After ending the previous week so exhausted a recovery week was such a relief.
My swim was a 20 minute time trial, and I might have hit my 50 lengths a few seconds under 20 minutes if the girl in front of me understood the concept of fast, medium and slow lanes. I appreciate that we are all of various levels of ability and I am often far from being the fastest in the fast lane, but some people really do spoil it for everyone else.
On Friday I decided that it was time to tackle my demons as I pulled my trainers on. As I warmed up I felt great which was a relief. I wondered how fast I could go for 3 miles. The last session was about 27 minutes I think, shaving a minute off of my PB. Not fast by some standards, but good for me. Flogging myself to my absolute limit I shaved another 2 minutes off finishing in 25:16. The residents of FOG must have thought I was mad as I ran up and down the main street in the village.
Saturday wasn't as warm as the previous few days which might explain why there were only 7 of us out. Trying to ascertain whether my Garmin issues were user errors or just a duff toy Valerie kindly uploaded a route for me, the idea being we would both have the route if mine went wrong. Not quite sure what happened, but we ended up off route and over all did just over 29 miles. That's fine whilst we are riding on local roads, but I'm starting to worry about the imminent trips to France, Holland and Belgium! Looks like it will be back to good old maps.
Heading out for my only run on the day on Sunday the sun was out and it was lovely to be off road again.. until the stomach aches started at 35 minutes. It certainly helps with the sprint to get home, believe me, you don't want to read any more details than that. Passing my front door at 57 minutes I made a quick pit stop, then went out for another 3 minutes just to make sure that I hit my target time :-)
Only having the one run has given me some time back in my day, so I have used it productively and set up a justgiving account. If you would like to sponsor me, I am fund raising for the Jane Tomlinson Appeal as Jane has long since been a hero of mine and it's such a worthy cause: https://www.justgiving.com/Helen-Hardware/
Thanks for reading :-)
Sunday 28 April 2013
Highs and Lows - 15th to 21st April
After 3 days of being ill with an upset stomach and hearing that several other friends had also been ill I eventually decided that I had a bug... and in the end I only missed one day of training.
A couple of days away for work saw me trapped in a hotel gym, but when I got talking to the girl on the next bike it turned out she lives in Tickhill... it's a small world (for those of you down sarfff that's a tiny village in South Yorkshire about a mile from where I grew up). The pool was a whole 11 meters, and the guy who ran the sports facilities was deadly serious when he said "If you swim diagonally you get an extra 3 strokes". It was so small that I couldn't push off from the wall or else I reached the other side without actually swimming.
On the Friday I was excited to get out on the bike after work for the first time this year, and wearing shorts too! After a lovely 23 mile tootle on my own I was nicely warmed up for Saturday's fun.
The was a nip in the air when 3 groups of riders left Hilden Golf Club at 8am on Saturday morning but there was a hint of summer in the air. I realised pretty quickly that the route on my Garmin was nothing like what we should be doing and fortunately I've ridden down to Rye several times in recent years so we were riding from memory. Riding past Tonbridge School we turned left and as we approached the traffic lights I looked over my shoulder before pulling out. There was a Royal Mail van behind the last of my girls. As I pulled out so did the van, onto the wrong side of the road, and accelerated towards and through the lights as they changed to amber. Clearly his shift was over he wanted to get back to the sorting office, but there's no excuse for that sort of driving... fortunately Emma knows the Chairman of Royal Mail....and I have the registration. Can't imagine what we might do with that information....
After a quick pit stop at Paula's we cruised down to Rye, over taking Sarah and Hatty's group somewhere near Rolvenden. The sun was out in full force by the time we plonked ourselves outside the cafe in Rye ordering cheese and ham toasties. The motor bikers at the next tables asked if they could have a head start if we wanted to race them.
It was a beautiful day with fantastic company and a lovely ride and for once there were no punctures!
Getting home I did the quickest turn around in history and headed up to the big smoke for Jo's hen night and a great night in Bar Salsa.
On Sunday morning I was tired, but following the training schedule I put my trainers on and headed out into the orchards. My legs felt like lead and my usual 9:40 minute miles had deteriorated to 11 minutes plus. After 2 miles of beating myself up I realised that this was perfect race day training and simply switched off and enjoyed being out.
After doing the washing, cleaning up the house, doing the shopping, I was told to stop procrastinating and get out for the second run... I got 3 minutes from home before bursting into tears. Ringing Tim I broke down and admitted that I was SO tired, I couldn't manage another 5-6 miles. Turning around I went home feeling pretty low and sorry for myself.
However it was probably one of the most sensible things I have done, had I have pushed on at that point I would have undoubtedly injured myself, and I've still got more than 2 months of training to complete.
A couple of days away for work saw me trapped in a hotel gym, but when I got talking to the girl on the next bike it turned out she lives in Tickhill... it's a small world (for those of you down sarfff that's a tiny village in South Yorkshire about a mile from where I grew up). The pool was a whole 11 meters, and the guy who ran the sports facilities was deadly serious when he said "If you swim diagonally you get an extra 3 strokes". It was so small that I couldn't push off from the wall or else I reached the other side without actually swimming.
On the Friday I was excited to get out on the bike after work for the first time this year, and wearing shorts too! After a lovely 23 mile tootle on my own I was nicely warmed up for Saturday's fun.
The was a nip in the air when 3 groups of riders left Hilden Golf Club at 8am on Saturday morning but there was a hint of summer in the air. I realised pretty quickly that the route on my Garmin was nothing like what we should be doing and fortunately I've ridden down to Rye several times in recent years so we were riding from memory. Riding past Tonbridge School we turned left and as we approached the traffic lights I looked over my shoulder before pulling out. There was a Royal Mail van behind the last of my girls. As I pulled out so did the van, onto the wrong side of the road, and accelerated towards and through the lights as they changed to amber. Clearly his shift was over he wanted to get back to the sorting office, but there's no excuse for that sort of driving... fortunately Emma knows the Chairman of Royal Mail....and I have the registration. Can't imagine what we might do with that information....
After a quick pit stop at Paula's we cruised down to Rye, over taking Sarah and Hatty's group somewhere near Rolvenden. The sun was out in full force by the time we plonked ourselves outside the cafe in Rye ordering cheese and ham toasties. The motor bikers at the next tables asked if they could have a head start if we wanted to race them.
It was a beautiful day with fantastic company and a lovely ride and for once there were no punctures!
Getting home I did the quickest turn around in history and headed up to the big smoke for Jo's hen night and a great night in Bar Salsa.
On Sunday morning I was tired, but following the training schedule I put my trainers on and headed out into the orchards. My legs felt like lead and my usual 9:40 minute miles had deteriorated to 11 minutes plus. After 2 miles of beating myself up I realised that this was perfect race day training and simply switched off and enjoyed being out.
After doing the washing, cleaning up the house, doing the shopping, I was told to stop procrastinating and get out for the second run... I got 3 minutes from home before bursting into tears. Ringing Tim I broke down and admitted that I was SO tired, I couldn't manage another 5-6 miles. Turning around I went home feeling pretty low and sorry for myself.
However it was probably one of the most sensible things I have done, had I have pushed on at that point I would have undoubtedly injured myself, and I've still got more than 2 months of training to complete.
Post Race Blues
Training started again last Tuesday morning with the usual early morning swim and it felt good to stretch through the water although I suffered no aches and pains after the half marathon.
Unfortunately my meetings over ran and I missed the early train out of London meaning that I wouldn't make Paddock Wood Athletic Club. Walking through the door I quickly changed and walked back out again. As I ran up Whetstead Road and over the railway line my legs felt light as a feather. Things started to change about a mile in, although I couldn't put my finger on it I just didn't feel right. Back at Mote Farm I considered taking a short cut back to the house but ploughed on across the fields. When I got back to the main road about 5 minutes later I felt awful, stomach cramps, nausea, and my head was spinning. Needless to say I turned left and headed home.
On Wednesday I still didn't feel right, but I hopped on the turbo to see how not right I was. Things felt OK, so I completed the planned session, 2 short bricks, back to back. Tim's comment as I ran out the door "it's raining slightly" really didn't do the torrent justice, and it was only after I had finished that I realised I hadn't been cold running in cycling shorts...perhaps the weather is turning.
By Thursday morning I was feeling all right again as I slipped into the pool. I had to flog myself to hit the 3km in 60:41, but by late afternoon I started with a migraine. It never came to anything, it just floated around being annoying.
Friday night it was another wet one as I hopped back onto the turbo and Saturday morning saw my beautiful carbon bike sitting at home whilst Doris (my heavy winter aluminium bike) and I went out. To get the mileage up without interfering with the normal Saturday rides we took the normal 25 mile groups, my turn for the hills as I stole the route Paula plotted last week (great route Mrs V-S!). It was mild and sunny, and a pleasure to be out after months of freezing miserable conditions. After a quick lunch stop a bunch of us headed out for a second ride, and some familiar faces joined us. Noshowjo bailed after a lap of Powder Mills, and Heidi joined us for the first half to test her lungs, it was great to see both back out on their wheels (and yes Mrs F of course you need a new bike...). We were at Edenbridge when the rain caught up with us, but after what we have cycled in it had little effect on morale. The garmin had a nasty habit of pausing itself though, I didn't reset between rides and that may have caused it to get confused.
I woke up late on Sunday and felt guilty that I wasn't at the KVG Sportive. The warm front which had been forecast had miraculously arrived and it was 15 degrees by 9:30am. Heading out for the first run of the day I regretted wearing full length Ronhills, this was shorts weather! Whoop whoop. I couldn't face doing the same out and back I have been doing for weeks so I set off to run some routes which I haven't covered since I lived in Kingshill 4 years ago. After running through West Malling high street, I turned off into the country park, only to find that it was a mud bath and about as slippery as an ice rink. Turning back out of the park I cut back across the dual carriageway and carried on in an eastward direction. Finding a public bridleway I turned off of the road, and 5 minutes later had to get my phone out to work out which way I needed to go. After lots of twists and turns, (plus a few google map checks) I ended up in East Malling (yey, back on track!) and headed back in. It hadn't been a quick one (I'm blaming too much time spent checking the map) and I'd only covered 8 miles in 90 minutes but it was a pleasure to be out in such beautiful weather.
After a nice lunch with Tim, and a window shopping trip to a couple of local bike shops (trying on lots of shorts as I need some new ones for the Outlaw), I was back out again for another 50 minute run. Looping around Laybourne Lakes the container which is used as a changing room/reception was open, so I stuck my head around the door to ask how "warm" the water was...9 degrees.. hummmm... won't be in without a wetsuit that's for sure! Unfortunately my stomach kicked in about half way through, when the only option was to keep going and the rest of the night and the next day was spent suffering from cramps and sudden sprints to the bathroom.
Unfortunately my meetings over ran and I missed the early train out of London meaning that I wouldn't make Paddock Wood Athletic Club. Walking through the door I quickly changed and walked back out again. As I ran up Whetstead Road and over the railway line my legs felt light as a feather. Things started to change about a mile in, although I couldn't put my finger on it I just didn't feel right. Back at Mote Farm I considered taking a short cut back to the house but ploughed on across the fields. When I got back to the main road about 5 minutes later I felt awful, stomach cramps, nausea, and my head was spinning. Needless to say I turned left and headed home.
On Wednesday I still didn't feel right, but I hopped on the turbo to see how not right I was. Things felt OK, so I completed the planned session, 2 short bricks, back to back. Tim's comment as I ran out the door "it's raining slightly" really didn't do the torrent justice, and it was only after I had finished that I realised I hadn't been cold running in cycling shorts...perhaps the weather is turning.
By Thursday morning I was feeling all right again as I slipped into the pool. I had to flog myself to hit the 3km in 60:41, but by late afternoon I started with a migraine. It never came to anything, it just floated around being annoying.
Friday night it was another wet one as I hopped back onto the turbo and Saturday morning saw my beautiful carbon bike sitting at home whilst Doris (my heavy winter aluminium bike) and I went out. To get the mileage up without interfering with the normal Saturday rides we took the normal 25 mile groups, my turn for the hills as I stole the route Paula plotted last week (great route Mrs V-S!). It was mild and sunny, and a pleasure to be out after months of freezing miserable conditions. After a quick lunch stop a bunch of us headed out for a second ride, and some familiar faces joined us. Noshowjo bailed after a lap of Powder Mills, and Heidi joined us for the first half to test her lungs, it was great to see both back out on their wheels (and yes Mrs F of course you need a new bike...). We were at Edenbridge when the rain caught up with us, but after what we have cycled in it had little effect on morale. The garmin had a nasty habit of pausing itself though, I didn't reset between rides and that may have caused it to get confused.
I woke up late on Sunday and felt guilty that I wasn't at the KVG Sportive. The warm front which had been forecast had miraculously arrived and it was 15 degrees by 9:30am. Heading out for the first run of the day I regretted wearing full length Ronhills, this was shorts weather! Whoop whoop. I couldn't face doing the same out and back I have been doing for weeks so I set off to run some routes which I haven't covered since I lived in Kingshill 4 years ago. After running through West Malling high street, I turned off into the country park, only to find that it was a mud bath and about as slippery as an ice rink. Turning back out of the park I cut back across the dual carriageway and carried on in an eastward direction. Finding a public bridleway I turned off of the road, and 5 minutes later had to get my phone out to work out which way I needed to go. After lots of twists and turns, (plus a few google map checks) I ended up in East Malling (yey, back on track!) and headed back in. It hadn't been a quick one (I'm blaming too much time spent checking the map) and I'd only covered 8 miles in 90 minutes but it was a pleasure to be out in such beautiful weather.
After a nice lunch with Tim, and a window shopping trip to a couple of local bike shops (trying on lots of shorts as I need some new ones for the Outlaw), I was back out again for another 50 minute run. Looping around Laybourne Lakes the container which is used as a changing room/reception was open, so I stuck my head around the door to ask how "warm" the water was...9 degrees.. hummmm... won't be in without a wetsuit that's for sure! Unfortunately my stomach kicked in about half way through, when the only option was to keep going and the rest of the night and the next day was spent suffering from cramps and sudden sprints to the bathroom.
Sunday 7 April 2013
Half-a-Marathon-Hardware
After the slog of last weekend I was a relief to have a day off on Tuesday. It was glorious and sunny and it lulled me into a false sense of security.
As the train pulled into Paddock Wood on Wednesday night the heavens opened up - with snow. I might have guessed. I was down for a brick session, therefore where the trainers go, the snow goes. Putting the bike back onto the turbo I settled in for a twin set of 20 mins spin, 10 mins run.
Thursday morning I was up and out with the lark to the pool and then started to taper for the weekend.
Driving to Hilden on Saturday morning to do just a regular Saturday 25 mile it crossed my mind that this was what normal life felt like. A lovely, pretty much flat ride out to Edenbridge with Claire, Jo, Angela and Jenny, no mechanicals, no punctures, not even any moaning about the route from Noshowjo. Bliss.
It's taken 3 years to get to the start line, and as I lay in bed contemplating running 13.1 miles pre-race nerves struck. When we pulled up in Paddock Wood station car park, being able to park in my normal car parking space made me feel more reassured and suddenly the nerves were gone.
As horn sounded the crowd surged forward and we were off. About 3 miles in I caught up with Carol looking splendid in the green and black jacket of the Natural Running Project (run coaching with the NRP is something I would recommend to anyone looking to improve their technique, avoid injury or just get faster - without Matt's coaching last year I would never have got to the start line). Carol was setting the perfect pace so I stuck with her for a few miles relying on the metronome she had merrily ticking along.
There were some familiar faces on the course and it was great to feel supported. There were spectators along the route cheering and shouting words of encouragement.
By the 6 mile sign I was comfortable with the 9:20-9:30 mile pace and I was pretty confident I could keep it up. I realised that I was looking at a 10km PB at 56 minutes.
Just before the 8 mile sign I realised that I was slowing and my biggest regret was that I hadn't taken any gels with me. Just when I was wondering how I was going to get around the next 5 miles Carol caught me back up and kindly gave me a High5 gel. For those of you who ride with me regularly you know how much I hate gels, the only ones I can stomach are isotonic, but that gel tasted as good as it could possibly get. Thank you once again Carol. Once the sugar had hit my system I felt great again and was back on the target pace.
Shortly after 9 miles I realised that I was in uncharted territory, which gave me a bit of a buzz.
There were little kids handing out sweets at about 10 miles which was great except the fruit pastel stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was still trying to deal with it by the next photographer. Goodness knows how bad the shots will be. I picked up the pace around 11 miles and tried to keep it under 9 minute miles.
Before I knew it the route turned back into Paddock Wood and it was the home stretch. As I ran past Evendens I pushed hard up the hill over the railway line and then turned into the industrial estate to the end and pushed into a sprint, looking at my watch I was managing 7:25 miles and I knew I could push over the finishing line and still feel relatively fresh.
I am ecstatic with an over time of 2:02:47 (that is 2 minutes 48 seconds I need to be faster by next year) and needless to say that after a quick bath a very nice Sunday roast followed at the Poet in Matfield.
Thanks for all your words of support and congratulation it meant a huge amount.
As the train pulled into Paddock Wood on Wednesday night the heavens opened up - with snow. I might have guessed. I was down for a brick session, therefore where the trainers go, the snow goes. Putting the bike back onto the turbo I settled in for a twin set of 20 mins spin, 10 mins run.
Thursday morning I was up and out with the lark to the pool and then started to taper for the weekend.
Driving to Hilden on Saturday morning to do just a regular Saturday 25 mile it crossed my mind that this was what normal life felt like. A lovely, pretty much flat ride out to Edenbridge with Claire, Jo, Angela and Jenny, no mechanicals, no punctures, not even any moaning about the route from Noshowjo. Bliss.
It's taken 3 years to get to the start line, and as I lay in bed contemplating running 13.1 miles pre-race nerves struck. When we pulled up in Paddock Wood station car park, being able to park in my normal car parking space made me feel more reassured and suddenly the nerves were gone.
As horn sounded the crowd surged forward and we were off. About 3 miles in I caught up with Carol looking splendid in the green and black jacket of the Natural Running Project (run coaching with the NRP is something I would recommend to anyone looking to improve their technique, avoid injury or just get faster - without Matt's coaching last year I would never have got to the start line). Carol was setting the perfect pace so I stuck with her for a few miles relying on the metronome she had merrily ticking along.
There were some familiar faces on the course and it was great to feel supported. There were spectators along the route cheering and shouting words of encouragement.
By the 6 mile sign I was comfortable with the 9:20-9:30 mile pace and I was pretty confident I could keep it up. I realised that I was looking at a 10km PB at 56 minutes.
Just before the 8 mile sign I realised that I was slowing and my biggest regret was that I hadn't taken any gels with me. Just when I was wondering how I was going to get around the next 5 miles Carol caught me back up and kindly gave me a High5 gel. For those of you who ride with me regularly you know how much I hate gels, the only ones I can stomach are isotonic, but that gel tasted as good as it could possibly get. Thank you once again Carol. Once the sugar had hit my system I felt great again and was back on the target pace.
Shortly after 9 miles I realised that I was in uncharted territory, which gave me a bit of a buzz.
There were little kids handing out sweets at about 10 miles which was great except the fruit pastel stuck to the roof of my mouth and I was still trying to deal with it by the next photographer. Goodness knows how bad the shots will be. I picked up the pace around 11 miles and tried to keep it under 9 minute miles.
Before I knew it the route turned back into Paddock Wood and it was the home stretch. As I ran past Evendens I pushed hard up the hill over the railway line and then turned into the industrial estate to the end and pushed into a sprint, looking at my watch I was managing 7:25 miles and I knew I could push over the finishing line and still feel relatively fresh.
I am ecstatic with an over time of 2:02:47 (that is 2 minutes 48 seconds I need to be faster by next year) and needless to say that after a quick bath a very nice Sunday roast followed at the Poet in Matfield.
Thanks for all your words of support and congratulation it meant a huge amount.
Tuesday 2 April 2013
Recovery Week?
Firstly apologies to those who have complained that my blog is a week behind... I will tri harder to get it back on course....
After something in the region of 18 hours training the week before last week's recovery period started with 3 days rest. In other words 3 nights of catching up on chores. Looking back I've no idea where the time actually went and the wash box is over flowing yet again.
Up at the crack of dawn once again on Thursday and in the pool by 7:20 am. I'm not quite sure how my swim sessions are calculated, and I don't think I always get the splits right but it's a great way to start the day. After a short session I was at work by my normal time and the end of a 4 day week for Easter.
I'm not sure what was "good" about Good Friday. It was freezing cold and as we huddled over our bikes at 8am at Hilden I just prayed that I didn't get the girls lost, as I've never led 60 miles. From the go my Garmin wouldn't work so we were in from a magical mystery tour. Somewhere near Penshurst it totally switched off (and yet I know the battery was charged) and when I turned it back on it was another 5 miles before I realised I hadn't pressed go.
At Eridge the route showed a cycle path under the A26 which was surprisingly there. Only problem was that after it crossed the main road it turned into an off road path only suitable for knobbly tyres. The road I had actually plotted turned out to be a driveway to a private house with "No Entry" signs posted everywhere meaning that we ended up on the A26 afterall and turned off to Bowles. I was working off of instincts now and knew that we needed to avoid Boars Head, as we cycled past the sign for Boars Head Road... Turning around at the top I'm not sure my "extra hill training" was that popular but we finally found the road to Marks Cross and were back on route. At the cross roads in Wadhurst, where the sign to Lamberhurst said 5 miles we went straight over and up (yet another) hill, at the top I was unsure of which road to take to go straight on. Sadly we picked the wrong one (team choice) and ended up in Frant - where the signs to Lamberhurst now said 6 miles.
We were 30 miles down so it was time for a tea stop in a lovely pub with a roaring log fire. Hatty picks some lovely places to have punctures so we had plenty of time to warm up and down a few bowls of chips whilst poor Hatty ran in and out trying to drink her tea before it went cold. A quick recalculation meant that we could head up to Kipplings Cross, through Matfield and Brenchley and back via Yalding on the flats (which had been part of the original plan). The snow started to get heavier as we left Frant as it slapped us in the face. All in all a very successful ride and we even managed to work some magic and produce some (almost) warm sunshine towards the end to fill our token Weather Girl's demands.
Saturday on the other hand.... was meant to be warmer, brighter and generally nicer. Someone lied. It was even colder. The snow was falling from the off and the winds were bitter. I questioned my sanity in taking my summer bike. For the first time in years it crossed my mind that I didn't have to do this. I turn around and go home if I wanted. Failure of course was not really an option. However when Paula got (the first) flat 4 miles in and the gas froze in the tube as we tried to inflate the replacement it was awfully tempting. One emergency call out (thanks to Christopher) later, we were off again, just running a little behind schedule. When Paula got her second puncture on Pilgrims Way I tried to arrange a call out but with no success. Whilst we fixed it the girls took turns to pee behind the bushes (no naming and shaming....). It was poor Emma's first ever lead and we did a quick recalculation before agreeing on a slight diversion into Snodland for a hot drink. The Shell garage didn't know what hit them. Paula managed to break the coffee machine (why do these things happen on our rides?!) and after we had eaten all the hot sausage rolls, pies, pastries etc and used their facilities (nicer than a bush) we were off again.
By the 30 mile mark we were on uncharted territory, making it feel like an adventure. Despite the weather we were feeling brighter and so long as we kept moving not too cold. We slowly climbed the North Downs and got nearer to our half way point. With 5 miles to go there was another cry from PVS... and yes... another puncture. By the time we got to Emma's for our tea stop everyone was ready for a rest. It felt like so much more than 40 miles! Huge thanks to Emma who having ridden as far as hard as everyone else flitted around the kitchen producing toasted bagels and hot cross buns for us to refuel on. Given it was after 2pm we would run out of daylight before we got the planned 90 miles under our belts, so we agreed to head back in, which would put us about 60 miles. The snow started again as we left Eyensford but as we wound around the M25 the sun (briefly) flirted with us. Climbing Ide Hill on the last stretch made me realise how much easier it was than when I rode up it in January and at the top we celebrated Claire's longest ever distance. The hop skip and a jump back to Hilden around Bough Beech felt easy by then but the weather meant that the light was fading and everyone was glad to get back to their cars. Thank you to Paula, Emma, Sarah, Jane and Claire for a terrific ride.
On Sunday I was paying for it. My summer bike set up had been tweaked the week before and the new set up had put a lot of strain on my legs. The words "listen to your body" went through my head and for once, I listened to it. Mainly because it was hard just walking up and down stairs, so I switched my rest day and had a day chilling with Tim.
Bank Holiday Monday meant that I had to get back on track so after procrasting as long as I possibly could I put my running gear on and Tim pushed me out of the door. Following the same route as the previous Sunday I realised that I was about 2 minutes ahead of myself as I passed the previous half way mark. Monitoring the speed I knew that I was in for a PB, and indeed hit the 9 mile mark for the first time with a time of 1:27. Bring on Paddock Wood Half Marathon!
After something in the region of 18 hours training the week before last week's recovery period started with 3 days rest. In other words 3 nights of catching up on chores. Looking back I've no idea where the time actually went and the wash box is over flowing yet again.
Up at the crack of dawn once again on Thursday and in the pool by 7:20 am. I'm not quite sure how my swim sessions are calculated, and I don't think I always get the splits right but it's a great way to start the day. After a short session I was at work by my normal time and the end of a 4 day week for Easter.
I'm not sure what was "good" about Good Friday. It was freezing cold and as we huddled over our bikes at 8am at Hilden I just prayed that I didn't get the girls lost, as I've never led 60 miles. From the go my Garmin wouldn't work so we were in from a magical mystery tour. Somewhere near Penshurst it totally switched off (and yet I know the battery was charged) and when I turned it back on it was another 5 miles before I realised I hadn't pressed go.
At Eridge the route showed a cycle path under the A26 which was surprisingly there. Only problem was that after it crossed the main road it turned into an off road path only suitable for knobbly tyres. The road I had actually plotted turned out to be a driveway to a private house with "No Entry" signs posted everywhere meaning that we ended up on the A26 afterall and turned off to Bowles. I was working off of instincts now and knew that we needed to avoid Boars Head, as we cycled past the sign for Boars Head Road... Turning around at the top I'm not sure my "extra hill training" was that popular but we finally found the road to Marks Cross and were back on route. At the cross roads in Wadhurst, where the sign to Lamberhurst said 5 miles we went straight over and up (yet another) hill, at the top I was unsure of which road to take to go straight on. Sadly we picked the wrong one (team choice) and ended up in Frant - where the signs to Lamberhurst now said 6 miles.
We were 30 miles down so it was time for a tea stop in a lovely pub with a roaring log fire. Hatty picks some lovely places to have punctures so we had plenty of time to warm up and down a few bowls of chips whilst poor Hatty ran in and out trying to drink her tea before it went cold. A quick recalculation meant that we could head up to Kipplings Cross, through Matfield and Brenchley and back via Yalding on the flats (which had been part of the original plan). The snow started to get heavier as we left Frant as it slapped us in the face. All in all a very successful ride and we even managed to work some magic and produce some (almost) warm sunshine towards the end to fill our token Weather Girl's demands.
Saturday on the other hand.... was meant to be warmer, brighter and generally nicer. Someone lied. It was even colder. The snow was falling from the off and the winds were bitter. I questioned my sanity in taking my summer bike. For the first time in years it crossed my mind that I didn't have to do this. I turn around and go home if I wanted. Failure of course was not really an option. However when Paula got (the first) flat 4 miles in and the gas froze in the tube as we tried to inflate the replacement it was awfully tempting. One emergency call out (thanks to Christopher) later, we were off again, just running a little behind schedule. When Paula got her second puncture on Pilgrims Way I tried to arrange a call out but with no success. Whilst we fixed it the girls took turns to pee behind the bushes (no naming and shaming....). It was poor Emma's first ever lead and we did a quick recalculation before agreeing on a slight diversion into Snodland for a hot drink. The Shell garage didn't know what hit them. Paula managed to break the coffee machine (why do these things happen on our rides?!) and after we had eaten all the hot sausage rolls, pies, pastries etc and used their facilities (nicer than a bush) we were off again.
By the 30 mile mark we were on uncharted territory, making it feel like an adventure. Despite the weather we were feeling brighter and so long as we kept moving not too cold. We slowly climbed the North Downs and got nearer to our half way point. With 5 miles to go there was another cry from PVS... and yes... another puncture. By the time we got to Emma's for our tea stop everyone was ready for a rest. It felt like so much more than 40 miles! Huge thanks to Emma who having ridden as far as hard as everyone else flitted around the kitchen producing toasted bagels and hot cross buns for us to refuel on. Given it was after 2pm we would run out of daylight before we got the planned 90 miles under our belts, so we agreed to head back in, which would put us about 60 miles. The snow started again as we left Eyensford but as we wound around the M25 the sun (briefly) flirted with us. Climbing Ide Hill on the last stretch made me realise how much easier it was than when I rode up it in January and at the top we celebrated Claire's longest ever distance. The hop skip and a jump back to Hilden around Bough Beech felt easy by then but the weather meant that the light was fading and everyone was glad to get back to their cars. Thank you to Paula, Emma, Sarah, Jane and Claire for a terrific ride.
On Sunday I was paying for it. My summer bike set up had been tweaked the week before and the new set up had put a lot of strain on my legs. The words "listen to your body" went through my head and for once, I listened to it. Mainly because it was hard just walking up and down stairs, so I switched my rest day and had a day chilling with Tim.
Bank Holiday Monday meant that I had to get back on track so after procrasting as long as I possibly could I put my running gear on and Tim pushed me out of the door. Following the same route as the previous Sunday I realised that I was about 2 minutes ahead of myself as I passed the previous half way mark. Monitoring the speed I knew that I was in for a PB, and indeed hit the 9 mile mark for the first time with a time of 1:27. Bring on Paddock Wood Half Marathon!
KVG Training Camp 2013
Kent Velo Girls runs an excellent "stay at home" training camp each March, in 2011 we were wearing short sleeves and factor 30 suncream. In 2013 we were praying that the snow stayed away long enough to actually get out. After Saturday's debacle with torrential rain it was just a pleasure to be back in the saddle in dry clothes, and new Rapha ones at that :-)
Monday was a pleasant 40 miler which skirted the pilgrims way and came back past the deer in Knole Park. All in all a pretty ride, and would have been even better without getting a puncture at the bottom of Bayley's Hill (every time I get a new jacket it gets filthy changing a flat!). I spent the rest of the afternoon going through routes for the 4 countries in 3 days tours trying to find pretty cycling paths that would save the riders legs, only to dash home, change kit and dash out again for a swim session. Am I really the only person who finds swimming with a pull buoy slows them down?
Not having to be up just after 5am on Tuesday morning was rather splendid, waking up at 6:30 and having a lay in, drinking tea in bed and reading the metro online felt rather a luxurious way to start a training day.
Back in the saddle we set off down to the Ashdown Forest, it's always a hilly ride but I wasn't expecting to be climbing Kidd's Hill, AKA The Wall. It's been on my list for a while so I was rather pleased to finally get another tick the Top 100 Climbs in the Country book. 125m of ascent over about a mile, there's no twists or turns; what you see is what you get. And that looks like a solid wall. All the training seems to be paying off though as my first thought was "yup, I can get up that" which of course I duly did, as did everyone else in the group.
Wednesday saw us all driving over to Surrey for the infamous Box Hill time trial, plus another 30 miles of hills immediately before, including a little ditty through Leatherhead (no road closures/air ambulances this year). I had demons to conquer on the time trial, having been about a minute slower in 2012 than the year before. In fairness I swallowed a fly half way up last year and the year before ended up pushing myself so hard I had an asthma attack at the top (I also had to deal with suicidal squirrels).
As tempting as it was to roll out the carbon bike that would give me an unfair advantage on the 2011 time. It has to be like for like or it doesn't count. So Doris and I set off to conquer.
From a standing start my gears were clunking and I couldn't quite find where I wanted to sit. The section to the first bend is the worst of the climb and I saw Hatty up ahead, as a target to aim for (sorry Hatty) but she was climbing really well and it took until after the second bend for me to catch her. After that I just got my head down and tried not to watch the clock, with a final time of 9:27, 19 seconds faster than 2011 and a very happy Helen although I was quite shocked to be told "You beat me, bitch" from Bee! That entitled me to a well deserved lunch with Naomi and Katharine (and of course the future world cycling champion, baby Alexander).
Thursday morning swung round early, and we were off again. This time on a 60 mile ride, including a half way stop at Chapel Down Vineyard. The pace was nippy and for the first time in the week it crossed my mind that I couldn't sustain the pace for the whole 60 miles but I was dammed sure I wasn't going to admit it. Fortunately someone else broke the speed with a cry of easy, and everyone sighed with relief. We were extremely spoilt calling at the Vineyard, and Viv had staff outside in the freezing cold pouring us cups of tea, with a beautiful array of brownies, flapjacks and savoury crackers. There were a few groans as we set off for the second half up a steep hill but it was a great way of warming back up again quickly. The rest of the second half was mainly flat and we got our heads down to finish with an average speed of 14.5mph.
On Friday I mistimed the drive to Cyclopark in Gravesend, and as I drove up the downs at Wrotham it started to snow. I was sat in the freezing cold car for ages waiting for everyone else. Friday is race training. I won't lie, it's not my cup of tea, and it's too stop start for freezing conditions. That said we all learnt some new things which made it worth while.
The curry on Friday night with the girls (including the award for the most improved rider) was a great way to wrap up the week (even if Sarah did moan that my blog was a week behind schedule - Sorry!).
After the intensity of the week it was almost a shock to the system not to get on my bike on Saturday and my legs were still complaining when I went out running on Sunday. It was slow and painful, but my longest ever run, 1:30 to do 8.44 miles (plus a second run later in the day).
Monday was a pleasant 40 miler which skirted the pilgrims way and came back past the deer in Knole Park. All in all a pretty ride, and would have been even better without getting a puncture at the bottom of Bayley's Hill (every time I get a new jacket it gets filthy changing a flat!). I spent the rest of the afternoon going through routes for the 4 countries in 3 days tours trying to find pretty cycling paths that would save the riders legs, only to dash home, change kit and dash out again for a swim session. Am I really the only person who finds swimming with a pull buoy slows them down?
Not having to be up just after 5am on Tuesday morning was rather splendid, waking up at 6:30 and having a lay in, drinking tea in bed and reading the metro online felt rather a luxurious way to start a training day.
Back in the saddle we set off down to the Ashdown Forest, it's always a hilly ride but I wasn't expecting to be climbing Kidd's Hill, AKA The Wall. It's been on my list for a while so I was rather pleased to finally get another tick the Top 100 Climbs in the Country book. 125m of ascent over about a mile, there's no twists or turns; what you see is what you get. And that looks like a solid wall. All the training seems to be paying off though as my first thought was "yup, I can get up that" which of course I duly did, as did everyone else in the group.
Wednesday saw us all driving over to Surrey for the infamous Box Hill time trial, plus another 30 miles of hills immediately before, including a little ditty through Leatherhead (no road closures/air ambulances this year). I had demons to conquer on the time trial, having been about a minute slower in 2012 than the year before. In fairness I swallowed a fly half way up last year and the year before ended up pushing myself so hard I had an asthma attack at the top (I also had to deal with suicidal squirrels).
As tempting as it was to roll out the carbon bike that would give me an unfair advantage on the 2011 time. It has to be like for like or it doesn't count. So Doris and I set off to conquer.
From a standing start my gears were clunking and I couldn't quite find where I wanted to sit. The section to the first bend is the worst of the climb and I saw Hatty up ahead, as a target to aim for (sorry Hatty) but she was climbing really well and it took until after the second bend for me to catch her. After that I just got my head down and tried not to watch the clock, with a final time of 9:27, 19 seconds faster than 2011 and a very happy Helen although I was quite shocked to be told "You beat me, bitch" from Bee! That entitled me to a well deserved lunch with Naomi and Katharine (and of course the future world cycling champion, baby Alexander).
Thursday morning swung round early, and we were off again. This time on a 60 mile ride, including a half way stop at Chapel Down Vineyard. The pace was nippy and for the first time in the week it crossed my mind that I couldn't sustain the pace for the whole 60 miles but I was dammed sure I wasn't going to admit it. Fortunately someone else broke the speed with a cry of easy, and everyone sighed with relief. We were extremely spoilt calling at the Vineyard, and Viv had staff outside in the freezing cold pouring us cups of tea, with a beautiful array of brownies, flapjacks and savoury crackers. There were a few groans as we set off for the second half up a steep hill but it was a great way of warming back up again quickly. The rest of the second half was mainly flat and we got our heads down to finish with an average speed of 14.5mph.
On Friday I mistimed the drive to Cyclopark in Gravesend, and as I drove up the downs at Wrotham it started to snow. I was sat in the freezing cold car for ages waiting for everyone else. Friday is race training. I won't lie, it's not my cup of tea, and it's too stop start for freezing conditions. That said we all learnt some new things which made it worth while.
The curry on Friday night with the girls (including the award for the most improved rider) was a great way to wrap up the week (even if Sarah did moan that my blog was a week behind schedule - Sorry!).
After the intensity of the week it was almost a shock to the system not to get on my bike on Saturday and my legs were still complaining when I went out running on Sunday. It was slow and painful, but my longest ever run, 1:30 to do 8.44 miles (plus a second run later in the day).
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