'Are you guys in a club?'

What a week! It started off with some simple gym work and Saturday had the hottest, driest ride ever.
The gym work was the normal; Spin bike, followed by 20 minutes of strenght work and then some stretching. I knocked this out M, T, W, missed Thursday. Friday I was off, but spent a fair amount of time cleaning and fettling with the bike for Saturdays epic.
And epic it was. Not a lot of singletrack, and the descents were a bit mild; but the climbs and the views were legion! All in, we did 36 miles but the elevation had to be in the 2,000's. My normal athletic prowess was dropped to that of a wimpering, snivelling worm whilst trying to maintain a 80RPM cadence whilst going up. Add to that, my ego of staying in the middle ring on the first of the 6 big climbs and I was in for a whole lot of hurt.
But, its over, and I feel that I really earned my stripes. At least thats what my farmer's tan/sunburn is telling me.
I'm off to ride in the gym now, and looking forward to my cycle home from work on Wednesday with Fishpool. You have to find opportunities to ride when you can.....

And then, breathe

Not much to say really. Gym, gym and more gym. I haven't gotten outside on the bike or run since Sunday. Good session on Monday, rest day on Tuesday. Small session (sprints) on Wednesday, that I really didn't feel up to; and now hill intervals this afternoon (if I can find the time). Work has been a bit manic right now, with end of year and budget planning for the 09/10.
I'm feeling quite good, and am still stretching. Babysat for some friends last night and spent 20 mins stretching. Either I was bored, or I'm starting to enjoy it. Yep, I was bored! The Apprentice-The Final Five just didn't keep my attention.
Here's to the rest of the week.

Ride, Flow, Ride, and Flow

Ride, flow, ride, flow. Thats about the state of things over the weekend. First, we had amazing weather. Beautiful sun, along with a nice breeze to keep things interesting. The goal was to come back from my back strain on Tuesday, but to be honest on Wednesday, I really didn't think I was going to be riding at all.
The strain came from a simple game with some colleagues on Tuesday in Hyde Park. I struggled home from the A and E and took a long train home. On Wednesday, there was no way I could even think of work. I even tried to work from home, but it was a bust. After seeing the doc, and taking it easy I started to feel better on Thursday. By Friday, it was about 75%.
But, Saturday morning screamed for a ride! I met up with 11 other riders at the start of our local ride. Nice and easy to start, and then I eased up to the front to stretch my legs up a moderate climb. No issues and then, I started to move up a gear. By the end, I felt awesome. A small group decided to try 'the reverse ferret' to add a little more time. All and all, pretty good.
We went over to Leeds Castle and enjoyed the sunshine and the jousting (yes, jousting).
I spent most of Sunday thinking about riding. Originally, I was to meet a training partner at 6.15am for a road ride, but I still don't have a bike to use. A friend was kind enough to let me use his for the RTP, but I didn't pick it up by Sunday. So, I tried to talk him into a MTB ride in the evening.
Instead, I went out on my own and discovered some old local trails. And thats were the ride, flow, ride, flow went out. I really felt one with the bike and just cruised over the trails. Effort was high, and I walked away feeling that I had just gotten a great taste of local training.
So, thats the weekend. And I can't wait for the next. In two weeks the Ferrets have the South Downs Way, now thats should get the mileage up.

Speed is your friend

What a weekend! I went for a run/bike block on Friday at the gym which went excellent. I've started doing the Power Plate and it seems to have helped the knee (but mad me look like a complete idiot in the process). Ferret ride was held on Saturday morning and the trails were so dusty, I had to ride at the front the whole time. Super fast fitness, minus technical skills added to the fun and it wasn't until I was finished with the first lap that I felt really comfortable on the MTB again. But, we only had time for the one lap, so that's how it goes.
Went to a friends party Saturday night and woke up with a slightly sore head in the morning. But, I have discovered Redbush tea which is now my all time favourite. What a great drink.
Sunday was spent house cleaning and getting ready for a family friend, and Monday William and I dug up some trenches for his schools veggie gardens. That was great fun, and we followed it up with a longer than usual ride over to his friends house. The boy is absolutely fearless on his bike when it comes to downhills. He's still not gotten to grips with the brake levers and just tries to ride it out instead. I made the mistake of saying 'speed is your friend' some time back and now he uses that as his reason all the time.
Good training week ahead, and looking forward to getting some time in the pool, now its open.

How do you train without motivation? That must be the toughest question out there, because I am really struggling with getting 'out there'. Let's go back a bit....
On Friday last week, I took my bike to work in an effort to ride home from Sevenoaks. If I get off the train then I would have no choice right? Oh, but remember I work in Central London. So dutifully, I lock my bike up outside of work and sometime between 7a and 1.50p my bike is stolen. Liquid nitrogen on the lock and then a hammer to smash the mechanism. Great! So, not only do I not ride home, but I ruin my whole weekend by being in a bad mood as the insurance won't cover the theft. Yep, you guessed it; the coverage only applies to bikes within my home!
And then there's my knee. I took 2 weeks off to recuperate and get it to full health. It feels fine, except when I go downhills. But, being the lazy sod that I am, I still haven't tried to put in a decent run. Think you know guilt? Try having a springer spaniel look at you with dissappoinment because you didn't take her for her run. Thats priceless!
But, there is hope. I am riding on Saturday with the Ferrets on the MTB. And I really haven't been turning pedals in anger in a while. So, lets see how it goes.
I have kept up the strenght training and the stretching so at least it isn't all bad.

Here's to the coming week!

Where's my motivation?

Because it hurts more

Good session on the bike today, with maybe about 1/3 of my body weight in sweat falling to the floor. I'm sure I looked a state, but I really felt good. This was all about recovery, so a lot of hill intervals.
I've started up on what I call 'Jacob's Ladder'; which is basically two levels up with one level back in 45 second intervals. I'll do 5 of them after 20 mins and find it absolutely kills my legs. All of this whilst listening to Metallica's Battery.
So, all in all a good session. I'm hoping to go out on the bike tomorrow evening if the rain holds off. Until then...