Playing catch up

Time for a resume of the past few days.

Thursday I tried out the new (old) mountain bike on the Monkey trail. It was strange riding a hard tail again and the ride was a little twitchy. After 20 mins or so though I started to adjust to the different riding style and I felt more comfortable. The semi slick tyres didn't help on the marbles but then what would I wonder?

Friday was all about swimming and my intention was to go 12 lengths without a break but I actually managed 20 quite comfortably doing 50 in total. I am almost at the point where I feel I can go on and on and a few more practice sessions will nail the 800m distance I need for the C2C.

Saturday I set off early for the Marshbrook sportive which is near Church Stretton. This was a 82 mile anticlockwise route in to Wales and back starting with a 20 percent, long climb up Carding Mill Valley. This was a taster of the climbing to come because it was a constant up and down route for the first 70 miles. I knew within 30 mins of starting my legs were not at their best and sure enough the first 50 miles became a physical battle. The rest of the ride became an exercise in mind over matter puntuated with limited periods of feeling quite good. I was happy to get back to the beginning and get a massage - cool.

Sunday saw the day dawn bright and sunny and the drive up to Ilam was a pleasure. This is where the White Peak Sportive was to start from. Nicola was meant to do this with me but because she has been ill recently and not able to put the time in on the bike she ducked out. I was not going to miss it though because this is a truly beautiful part of the world. This was a 38 mile ride with a not insignificant amount of climbing and after yesterdays ride was more than enough. The first 25 miles were quite good but after that all I could think about was getting to the finish. This capped off a fantastic few days of training.

A couple of days rest are in order before starting to run again. It's time to get down to some brick training interspersed with long runs in preparation for bigger challenges ahead.