Well done but not over.

let me explain. The ride is done and the 2010 Etape caledonia is over. However the journey that it inspired is only just beginning. This year is a year to improve and enjoy the summer events being stepping stones or landmarks from one place to another. I have changed myself physically and continue to do so. With these changes I have found new friends enjoyed old ones in different ways and made myself feel healthier nad happier.

As this year progresses so will come the winter and training for 2011. I hope for improvement and enjoyment as I follow this new course. I feel lucky and happy to do what I could not do before.

4hrs 9mins 20seconds one great memory. :-) Thanks Tracy for everything.

Almost time

I am amazed at how a month can pass so fast. I am amazed at how six months has passed. In a week I hope to be sound asleep waiting for the morning to come. Breakfast, dress, check, kiss then on my way. 7.15 miles easy easy then 82 miles about as quick as i can manage. I have done it before so I do not have any thoughts in my head of a negative nature. I can but how fast, well 20.5mph at least is the idea.

Last time I was not by any stretch at my best, nor my best output. I was not even able to hide in the draught of another not for any part of the day. So this time will be new and hard but whatever the outcome the time or average I intend to have a great day out.

I will be all the better knowing T will look after me before and after and no doubt be with me along the way as she always is.

Last few big rides before having a break.

I only have four more big ride days available before taking things easy on holiday and of course cycling the Etape. How things have changed in the past few weeks. After thinking of cycling the course myself with all the drive to get through traffic and no doubt a little frustration as the roads are narrow, it has all changed. I am entered as part of a team, I have joined a second cycling club and have a seeding of 3hrs 50mins. Well it is less than fours hours and that was the goal all along. Bearing in mind the quickest I have seen posted was 3hrs 38mins this is no easy task.

Anyway I will do my best but feel relaxed and happy just to enjoy the ride. This week was a good week with over 10000 feet climbed and over 200miles ridden. Importantly in this was a ride of the route in a more sedate 5hrs. At full tilt and with a group I think four hours is achievable.

I tried my new wheels and so far I like them alot they roll really well, give great feedback and of course seem to offer more speed for equal effort. Ideal. I think a bit of gym work in the tapered weeks will be a good idea, activation of as many muscle fibres as possible wont go wrong.

Tracy should have her bike soon (the voucher came in the post today), as much as riding my event I look forward to sharing a road ride with her and help her achieve her goals. Just now though I look forward till tomorrow and a couple of hours of training in the good weather.

I can't believe it has been more than two weeks!

Thank goodness it has not been two weeks since my last ride and only a couple of weeks since I added a new post. I am on my work break again and so far the work load has been high. I had a great ride of about 65 miles on Saturday with a few fun hills but mostly great weather.

On Sunday I ran my first half marthon which was harder than I thought as it takes a bit nore than 20hours to refuel properly. However the job was done and I feel happy about how it went which goes a long way.

I feel pretty fit at the moment but I also feel that my fitness is improving which is great. Spring has sprung although today and into the weekend don't look like it. I am excited about some harder riding to work on my lactate tolerance spread amoung the long rides ahead. I am excited about my race kit arriving and I am excited about a summer or brilliant adventure and memorable rides with friends or with friends with me. I guess I am in a good mental place which means my body is in good shape. As always keep monitoring happy=healthy=adapting so long as output is being increased anyway.

Tomorrow will be a good day for some easy paced but long riding as I make my way along the scenic route from Dundee on my trust old get about. It is nice to include this as I always feel happy including little bits of history, in this case a bike my parents bought me that is still going strong.

This weekend there are a few ride plans around so I look forward to seeing how that goes. I also look forward to going on holiday in April which will be perfect for recovery and the steady stream of tropical sunlight will lift spirits towards the last couple of weeks of preparation.

Last note that in April I will book my place on the Trossachs ton. This will take away some of the apprehension felt toward goal one and also tick a valuable cycling mile stone, a 100 mile ride. Anyway first things first again riding tomorrow. ;-)

bumpy roads

The road to the etape just got a little bumpy. I enjoyed a good recovery week. Then launched into a pretty tough week of training. The problem or the bump I have encountered is that I did not listen to my body, when I did not feel great I went ahead anyway. I thought I was having a plateu which needed to be pused through. Nope I was not and the pace was to fast. I am now taking some enforced rest, hoping that last nights resting heart rate >100bpm soon eases.

Still in the time I have not been great I have driven some interesting roads many having signs saying 15% and the like so they will need to be tested when I am well. If for no other reason than to put aside the apprehension I feel toward them. Once riden they will forever be conquerable.

I look forward to the aches passing and feeling good about doing some training again, and most of all about getting out to enjoy some lovely roads on foot or on my bike.

Tracy is great she has nursed me and looks after me really well.

Next week there will hopefully no longer be any bumps in the road.

Training - Body, mind. But which order.

All in all things are going well. This week is a recovery week as I have five work days of 13hrs each, can't do everything. My head is telling me go train, my body says go train, but I know I should rest. Next week training starts again Monday massage, Tuesday workout, Wednesday workout, Thursday easy day, Friday all day workout, so on and so forth for the next three active training weeks. Then recover again.

Resting my body this week is making my mind hungry. This months training cycle is very important as the threshold of endurance is pushed kicking and screaming to new levels. So it must start right and that means recovered from last week. Time and control are import maybe more important as the level of investment is high now, patience must be maintained. I can't escape from the fact, there are only two more training cycles until I get the chance to test myself.

How do I feel - Positive yet slightly nervous, time is getting short but at the same time I know huge leaps are possible in the time remaining. In any case I am in good shape already so there is nothing to get worked up about. It is all a bit of fun, it is just more fun to be fast.

Ready for the fight.

Getting ready for the day has been a relatively simple task so far, education, patience and building up output at steady heart rates. However the road will not be so flat and hills will need squashed flat by high output. So come next week and five days off work some huge efforts will be put in to push the outer limits of my ability a bit further. All the time though monitor and recover will be in my mind, there is no point of working hard to get sick to lose out on the following week.

I am happy with how my rides are going even if sometimes they are on a turbo trainer, I know I am keeping my legs turning.

Time to plan a ride.