June was a strange fitness month for me, it included one big and very unexpected PB at the Southend Half Marathon, my first proper injury and a record breaking cycling mileage month.
I managed a paultry 28 miles running over the course of 6 runs, 13.1 of which were in the Half Marathon. I thought I had ITBS and two trips to the physio and 60quid have confirmed that. With LEJOG my main focus the near record running low mileage hasn't been as frustrating as it otherwise would have been. But with a 10K in london on the 10th July I intend to get running properly starting tommorrow! Brian working on my IT band, tight hamstring and calf should hopefully have settled my knee down and allow me to train fairly unimpeded prior to the 10K.
Cycling wise I have done 465 miles this month. In excess of 100 miles more than my previous best, set last month. This included 22 out of 22 days commuting to and from the office, plus 3 decent Saturday rides of 30, 45 and 45 miles. The knee injury hampering my running has had no effect on my cycling, and I am feeling strong and desperate to get cracking with LEJOG in just over two weeks time. I will commute next week and may get in one more ride of 25-40 miles but that will be it before the off. I want to be fresh for the ride, and will get my bike in for a last once over service as well as getting the kit washed, packed and ready for the grand departe.
There is much more than just training for LEJOG to do and we have been making good progress on all the other elements that make the two weeks run smoothly. The Garmin Edge 800 that John has lent us has been successfully test run on a trip to Wallasea Island. The route is 95% of the way there. I have compiled a kit list which after some advice now contains some cycle jerseys to maintain our modesty. All that is left to do is learn how to use the bike racks, finalise the route, buy food and drink supplies and get packing. I am keen to start the thing tommorrow, and I think the girls are quite keen for us to get cracking, I believe the talking about cycling limit is close to being breached.
I'll blog after my 10K race to let you know how I got on, then the next time you will hear from me is after our 13 mile warm up before LEJOG really starts on the 17th July.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Southend Half Marathon - 12.06.11 - Race Report
I went into this race with expectations dampened due to an irritating knee injury (suspected ITBS)and low run mileage in the lead up to the race. 202 miles in the 90 days leading up to the race, compared with 304 miles in the lead up to Norwich HM where I set my previous PB of 01:34:13.
I had not done myself justice at my previous two runnings of this race, the first due to it being my first ever race, and being hugely undertrained leading to a time of 02:17:48. Last year I ran 01:45:40 and put my poor performance down to the heat. So this year I expected another roasting hot day and with the above mentioned problems I set myself a target of 1 hour 40 minutes.
Upon waking this morning, the weather was very different to the previous two very hot days, the sky was grey but it wasn't raining when I set off to meet up with the parents who were giving me a lift to the start. They dropped me off close to the start line at half 9 and that left me sometime to get myself together and stop off for a pre race loo stop.
I made it to the startline with 10 minutes to go before kick off, and positioned myself right at the front. On my previous two runnings I had found the first two miles very congested, and I had expended far too much time hopping kerbs and running round slower runners.
We were set off just after 10 and I ran hard, I got a bit swept up by the fast runners around me. But I felt strong and didn't feel like I was overly pushing myself. I went through the first mile in 06:31 much faster than my PB mile time of 07:11 or my 1:40 target which would have been 07:38 miling. The second mile was a little downhill as we headed for the seafront and I went through the second mile at the start of the seafront in 06:35. Even at the front it was still a little crowded through the narrow streets with the tight corners, but it didn't slow me down at all. By the seafront, the crowds of runners had thinned out just as the crowds of spectators increased, even with the poor weather there was still a good turn out.
I got settled into a good sized group for the first run along the seafront, and the miles kept falling by fast. Going through miles three and four in 06:41 and 06:44 as we turned around at the Kursaal to head back to complete the first loop. It was at this point that I felt the headwind, and realised that as well as my overly enthuastic start, there had also been a helpful tail wind through the first third of the race.
I settled into a rythm for the middle third of the race that felt comfortable and sustainable and for the next five miles I ran at and around 7 minute miling. I went through 10Km in a PB of around 42minutes and would also have run a 10mile PB, neither of which I will count, but it was still really encouraging and scary thinking I had gone off too fast.
I think I did go off too fast, but my best times across all distances have followed the pattern of going out hard and hoping to hang on in the final stages. Today was no different as my mile times quickly dropped away after mile 9. I knew a PB was on as long as I held it together, and could run 8 minute miles for the final third. But this was feeling very challenging running into the wind and then with the sole hill just before the 11 mile marker. Any dreams I had of sub 90minutes were now long gone, I had gone through half way on target for 88 minutes and it was just a case of hanging on for the PB.
It was during this period that I thought of a film called Gattaca, where two brothers swim out as far as they can before turning around and heading for home. Whoever swam furthest won. The younger, weaker brother always lost, until one day he won. The elder brother asked how he did it, and he said "I left nothing for the way back" and there were alot of times today that I worried I had left nothing for the way back.
I did manage to find my way home and managed to run around 07:30 minute miles for the final 4 miles and found a final surge for the 400 metres to the finish line. I managed to raise my arms before the finish line and stopped the Garmin at 01:32:09 a PB by over 2 minutes! Within a few steps of crossing the finish line my left knee gave up, but I didn't care I had a most unexpected and cherished PB.
The only blot on an otherwise perfect race, was limping around desperately trying to catch a bus to get me to the parents for a roast. I spent as long trying to get a bus as I did running the race! Eventually admitting defeat and getting picked up by my Sister from ASDA Shoeburyness.
Offical Time is 01:32:08 and 150th out of 1507 runners.Sorry for the length of the blog. For all you numbers junkies check out my mile splits, and then grouped into 3 mile sections.
Mile Splits:
1)6:31
2)6:35
3)6:41
4)6:44
5)6:51
6)6:57
7)6:56
8)7:02
9)7:05
10)7:25
11)7:31
12)7:35
13)7:40
13.1)0:39
3 Mile Splits & The Finish:
1-3 - 19:47 (06:40 per mile)
4-6 - 20:32 (06:51 per mile)
7-9 - 21:03 (07:10 per mile)
10-12 - 22:31 (07:30 per mile)
13-13.1 - 08:19 (07:34 per mile)
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
May, Marathons, Mileage and Mishaps
The month started with a cycle of 50 miles and I managed to follow that up with a cycle of 35 miles on the Bank Holiday Monday. There was also one 30 mile cycle with Dad out to Paglesham, but the rest of my Cycling in May was made up of regular commuting to and from the office which I managed to do 15 times. This consistency meant that I managed a total of 345 miles for the month of May, considerably more than my previous mileage high of 210 miles which I achieved in April last year.
May was also the month of the Stratford Marathon where I managed to achieve a 13 minute PB off less than ideal training mileage and with a complete lack of long runs. Since Stratford I have managed a number of short, maintenace type runs just to keep my fitness, in the hope of building on it for the Southend Half Marathon in June and the British 10K in July.
But in the build up to yesterdays BUPA 10K in London which I ran with Amy I had been experiencing some discomfort in my left knee, particuarly after the 10K I ran on Sunday. Following this up with the 10K on Monday, has meant my left knee has a dull ache, and this then becomes quite uncomfortable after sitting down at a desk for a period and then trying to get moving. I commuted in on the bike today and will continue to do so, but my running will be shelved until the knee feels better. It's frustrating, and I have mileage targets I'd like to achieve. But at the end of the year it will be my PB's and races that will be of much more interest to me than some arbitrary mileage targets, so at the moment rest is top priority.
Having said all that my mileage for May was 89miles and that now takes me to just over 450 miles for the year. A good milestone reached in May was the time I spent exercising which was over 34 hours so more than an hour a day and this was another record high for me. Looking towards June, knee permitting I want to run Southend hard looking for sub 1 hour 40mins, cycle maybe 450 miles and just keep myself fresh for my 10K PB attempt and LEJOG in July.
May was also the month of the Stratford Marathon where I managed to achieve a 13 minute PB off less than ideal training mileage and with a complete lack of long runs. Since Stratford I have managed a number of short, maintenace type runs just to keep my fitness, in the hope of building on it for the Southend Half Marathon in June and the British 10K in July.
But in the build up to yesterdays BUPA 10K in London which I ran with Amy I had been experiencing some discomfort in my left knee, particuarly after the 10K I ran on Sunday. Following this up with the 10K on Monday, has meant my left knee has a dull ache, and this then becomes quite uncomfortable after sitting down at a desk for a period and then trying to get moving. I commuted in on the bike today and will continue to do so, but my running will be shelved until the knee feels better. It's frustrating, and I have mileage targets I'd like to achieve. But at the end of the year it will be my PB's and races that will be of much more interest to me than some arbitrary mileage targets, so at the moment rest is top priority.
Having said all that my mileage for May was 89miles and that now takes me to just over 450 miles for the year. A good milestone reached in May was the time I spent exercising which was over 34 hours so more than an hour a day and this was another record high for me. Looking towards June, knee permitting I want to run Southend hard looking for sub 1 hour 40mins, cycle maybe 450 miles and just keep myself fresh for my 10K PB attempt and LEJOG in July.
Monday, 30 May 2011
2011 BUPA 10K Race Report
I really enjoyed my second visit to the BUPA 10K in London this year. I ran it last year with my arm in a plaster cast on and managed to score a big PB in a time of 43:36, not giving myself much opportunity to take in the sights of the capital on route.
This year I ran with Amy, as we had done at the Cancer Research 10K last October and we were hoping to beat the 58 minutes we ran that day. The Cancer Research run was a more relaxed charity event, and the distance wasn't offical nor the race chip timed. The 58 minutes came from my stopwatch, and so whatever the result today it would mark Amy's offical PB.
Her prep for the race hadn't been perfect suffering illness in the week leading up to the race, and with wedding and holiday distractions, running had quite rightly taken a back seat. Thus when we met in Green Park she was definately playing down her chances of beating the time she had previously set.
As we moved towards the Blue start pens, the weather was overcast and pretty perfect for running, but as we waited for our allotted start time the sun appeared from behind the clouds and stayed out for the rest of the race, leaving us on a slow cook. We were finally set off 20mins after Mo Farah and the elietes, and so we never had a chance of catching them up!
The first Km was slow, as it always is at these big city events with so many participants even with the numerous wave starts. But by the second Km Amy and I were gently moving through the field, taking over far more people than were passing us. The second Km was a little downhill and we registered our fastest Km of the race there. Km's three to the half way point were mainly run along the embankment and the crowds were big and noisey, with Amy getting a particuarly big cheer from the NSPCC cheer station as she was running for them today.
We reached halfway in good time, a little ahead of sub 60min and a bit slower than our original goal of 58mins. Amy was struggling with a stitch from about 3K and it hung around for much of the race, but she dug deep and she was feeling strong enough to put a surge on with 2K to go. But we then took it steady before a surge for the line from 400m out as we ran down the Mall. I crossed the line just behind Ames and my Garmin says 59:30 but it stopped under some of the bridges so I think the offical time will be more like 59:45 as long it's under 60mins I don't think either of us will mind!
So my BUPA 10K was a very different experience from 2010, and a very plesant one. It's always nice running with someone, and helping them achieve their goals. Unfortunately it seems to have come at a price. My left knee has been hurting for a week or so, and today's run seems to have aggrivated it. I think my low mileage going into the Marathon meant the Marathon has taken alot more out of me than I first thought. I'll see how the knee is tommorrow and take it from there.
The big events on my horizon are Southend HM, another 10K in London in July and LEJOG the week after. I don't think the knee will affect my cycling at all, and at Southend I am hoping to beat last years time of 1hr 45mins without gunning for my PB of 1hr 34mins so should be able to manage the knee. I just hope it has recovered sufficently that I can have a real crack at a good 10K PB in early July. I will keep you posted on the niggle/injury front and will also be blogging tomorrow when May comes to a close for my training summary.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Stratford Marathon Training Analysis
This blog comes with a Health Warning, suitable only for those with a deep love of numbers or of me. Side effects may include slipping into a deep sleep and so is recommended for insomniacs.
I was interested to further analyse my preparation as I knew it wasn't the best and I hoped to find some inspiration for my next Marathon at Chester in October. The results of the analysis didn't tell me anything particuarly groundbreaking but were interesting to look at.
In the 13 weeks leading up to Stratford I did the following:
- 252.19 miles (an average of 19.40 miles per week)
- 46 runs (an average of 3.54 runs per week)
- 3 races (Bentley HM, Albert Parkrun 5K, Norwich HM)
- 4 long runs (Over 10miles) (10.10 miles,15.09,10.18,11.00)
- 3 Weeks of 10 miles or less.
- 5 Weeks of 10 - 20 Miles.
- 3 Weeks of 20 - 30 Miles
- 2 Weeks of 30 - 40 Miles.
- With a Highest mileage week of 37.29 miles and a lowest mileage week of 4.01 miles.
All showing that I was definately undercooked going into Stratford. What I haven't shown is all the bike training I have done in that time for LEJOG and I think that must have helped particuarly with all the undulations on the Stratford course.
Fetch has a whole world of Stats and calculators one of which shows what mileages people do for different race times. For my time of 3:37:41 the average training mileage in the 13 weeks leading up to race day is 453.92 miles with an average of 4.6 training sessions a week. Fetch also splits into different bands the mileage people undertake in the build up to the race. My mileage total for the 13 weeks was in the lowest 10% out of those analysed.
All of this gives me lots of confidence that given proper prep before Chester I can get another big PB of sub 3 hrs 30 and reach my eventual goal of a sub 3 hour Marathon given time.
I was interested to further analyse my preparation as I knew it wasn't the best and I hoped to find some inspiration for my next Marathon at Chester in October. The results of the analysis didn't tell me anything particuarly groundbreaking but were interesting to look at.
In the 13 weeks leading up to Stratford I did the following:
- 252.19 miles (an average of 19.40 miles per week)
- 46 runs (an average of 3.54 runs per week)
- 3 races (Bentley HM, Albert Parkrun 5K, Norwich HM)
- 4 long runs (Over 10miles) (10.10 miles,15.09,10.18,11.00)
- 3 Weeks of 10 miles or less.
- 5 Weeks of 10 - 20 Miles.
- 3 Weeks of 20 - 30 Miles
- 2 Weeks of 30 - 40 Miles.
- With a Highest mileage week of 37.29 miles and a lowest mileage week of 4.01 miles.
All showing that I was definately undercooked going into Stratford. What I haven't shown is all the bike training I have done in that time for LEJOG and I think that must have helped particuarly with all the undulations on the Stratford course.
Fetch has a whole world of Stats and calculators one of which shows what mileages people do for different race times. For my time of 3:37:41 the average training mileage in the 13 weeks leading up to race day is 453.92 miles with an average of 4.6 training sessions a week. Fetch also splits into different bands the mileage people undertake in the build up to the race. My mileage total for the 13 weeks was in the lowest 10% out of those analysed.
All of this gives me lots of confidence that given proper prep before Chester I can get another big PB of sub 3 hrs 30 and reach my eventual goal of a sub 3 hour Marathon given time.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
The Kinda Day You Dream Of!
There are some days that are just Great days! Today was one of those days. I PB'd at the Stratford Marathon, offical time of 3:37:41 and 249th position out of 1077 finishers. Man Utd did the business beating Chelsea 2-1 and moving within a point of the title, had a beautiful curry with my beautiful wife and the cherry on the top was Arsenal getting beaten 3-1 by Stoke.
The race weekend in Stratford with Lauren and Jan was fantastic start to finish. Got there Friday night, had a quick pint and some McDonald's for me and then booked in at the Premier Inn. Woke up to it chucking down with rain, but managed to get myself outside for 4 miles, ran along side the river and saw the finish for the race and got to run a little bit of the route. Made it back to the hotel looking like a drowned rat. A bit of shopping and lunch was followed by a 3 hour performance of Macbeth, which I enjoyed much more than my previous Stratford thearte expierence. Then it was off to see Rom, Danni, Hannah, Chris and Lilly all relatives of Lauren's. Had a very pleasant evening at theirs before getting back to the hotel a bit before Midnight.
Woke up fearing the worst weather wise. The ground was still wet from the weekends rain, but it held off and was very kind to us throughout the day. Had some breakie with Lauren at the hotel then headed for the start line. Jan met us there and a few snaps and hugs later I went to the start pen whilst they headed for mile two to catch a glimpse of me.
I set off what felt gently, a couple of mile loop round the town before we headed out to the country lanes around Stratford. Saw Lauren and Jan after a couple of miles just before tackling the first incline of the day. I went through the first 3 miles at 7:40 pace, much quicker than even my most ambitious target pace and I knew it wasn't sustainable. I took the foot off the gas, and the next 6 miles bar one mile all hovered close to the 8 min mile mark.
At mile 10 I lost 30 seconds as I nipped into the loo for my one stop of the day. I then saw Lauren and Jan around the 12 mile mark when the race splits with the Half Marathon runners heading for the finish, as I and my fellow Marathon runners headed out for a second lap.
The middle section of the race was taken nice and steady and I just ran on feel. 8:15 miling seemed to be what my body wanted and I felt strong. This slowed to more like 08:30 miles as I counted down to the 20 mile marker. I was waiting for the wheels to fall off, as my prep had been far from ideal, with a longest run of just 15 miles and just general low mileage particuarly for the two weeks in SA. There wasn't any good reason for this, no injuries, just good old fashioned laziness.
But it didn't seem to be affecting my performance, as I went through the 20 mile mark and onto the Greenway feeling great, my last gel had kicked in and the surface was nice offroad gravel like the bridle track which I love. The splits of 8:18,8;22 and 8:33 don't really do that part of the race justice as I felt great and was moving through the field nicely at this stage.
It was at 24 miles with just 2.2 miles to go that the pain set, I was shattered and had nothing left, I was just trying to keep moving. It was at this stage that I felt beating Lara's PB was out of reach, and 3hrs 30 was long gone and so motivation was low. I knew I was going to PB it was just a matter of by how much. I was starting to lose a place or two on the run in, but just kept putting one foot in front of the other. There was now only 1/2 mile to go and it was the stretch I had ran on Saturday so I knew I was nearly there. I saw Lauren & Jan on the run in and managed one last smile for the camera before crossing the line in just under 3:38 on the gun time. The chip time came in at 3:37:41 a PB of nearly 13 minutes. I was really pleased with this result, and my Garmin tells me there were 999m of ascent (in hindsight this looks bigtime wrong) which sounds pretty hilly to me. I'm exhausted and ready for bed, I think the cycle in to work tommorow is probably off the cards!
Below are my splits for the race and my training for Stratford and for previous Marathon PB at Rutland.
The race splits looked liked this
Miles 0-6 - 46:56 (7:49 per Mile)
Miles 7-12 - 49:32 (8:15 per Mile)
Miles 13-18 - 49:34 (8:16 per Mile)
Miles 19-24 - 51:10 (8:32 per Mile)
Miles 25-26.2 - 20:29 (9:18 per Mile)
Training Breakdown
Mileage in 90 days leading up to Stratford - 233 miles (longest run of 15 miles)
Mileage in 90 days leading up to Rutland - 252 miles (longest run of 20 miles)
The race weekend in Stratford with Lauren and Jan was fantastic start to finish. Got there Friday night, had a quick pint and some McDonald's for me and then booked in at the Premier Inn. Woke up to it chucking down with rain, but managed to get myself outside for 4 miles, ran along side the river and saw the finish for the race and got to run a little bit of the route. Made it back to the hotel looking like a drowned rat. A bit of shopping and lunch was followed by a 3 hour performance of Macbeth, which I enjoyed much more than my previous Stratford thearte expierence. Then it was off to see Rom, Danni, Hannah, Chris and Lilly all relatives of Lauren's. Had a very pleasant evening at theirs before getting back to the hotel a bit before Midnight.
Woke up fearing the worst weather wise. The ground was still wet from the weekends rain, but it held off and was very kind to us throughout the day. Had some breakie with Lauren at the hotel then headed for the start line. Jan met us there and a few snaps and hugs later I went to the start pen whilst they headed for mile two to catch a glimpse of me.
I set off what felt gently, a couple of mile loop round the town before we headed out to the country lanes around Stratford. Saw Lauren and Jan after a couple of miles just before tackling the first incline of the day. I went through the first 3 miles at 7:40 pace, much quicker than even my most ambitious target pace and I knew it wasn't sustainable. I took the foot off the gas, and the next 6 miles bar one mile all hovered close to the 8 min mile mark.
At mile 10 I lost 30 seconds as I nipped into the loo for my one stop of the day. I then saw Lauren and Jan around the 12 mile mark when the race splits with the Half Marathon runners heading for the finish, as I and my fellow Marathon runners headed out for a second lap.
The middle section of the race was taken nice and steady and I just ran on feel. 8:15 miling seemed to be what my body wanted and I felt strong. This slowed to more like 08:30 miles as I counted down to the 20 mile marker. I was waiting for the wheels to fall off, as my prep had been far from ideal, with a longest run of just 15 miles and just general low mileage particuarly for the two weeks in SA. There wasn't any good reason for this, no injuries, just good old fashioned laziness.
But it didn't seem to be affecting my performance, as I went through the 20 mile mark and onto the Greenway feeling great, my last gel had kicked in and the surface was nice offroad gravel like the bridle track which I love. The splits of 8:18,8;22 and 8:33 don't really do that part of the race justice as I felt great and was moving through the field nicely at this stage.
It was at 24 miles with just 2.2 miles to go that the pain set, I was shattered and had nothing left, I was just trying to keep moving. It was at this stage that I felt beating Lara's PB was out of reach, and 3hrs 30 was long gone and so motivation was low. I knew I was going to PB it was just a matter of by how much. I was starting to lose a place or two on the run in, but just kept putting one foot in front of the other. There was now only 1/2 mile to go and it was the stretch I had ran on Saturday so I knew I was nearly there. I saw Lauren & Jan on the run in and managed one last smile for the camera before crossing the line in just under 3:38 on the gun time. The chip time came in at 3:37:41 a PB of nearly 13 minutes. I was really pleased with this result, and my Garmin tells me there were 999m of ascent (in hindsight this looks bigtime wrong) which sounds pretty hilly to me. I'm exhausted and ready for bed, I think the cycle in to work tommorow is probably off the cards!
Below are my splits for the race and my training for Stratford and for previous Marathon PB at Rutland.
The race splits looked liked this
Miles 0-6 - 46:56 (7:49 per Mile)
Miles 7-12 - 49:32 (8:15 per Mile)
Miles 13-18 - 49:34 (8:16 per Mile)
Miles 19-24 - 51:10 (8:32 per Mile)
Miles 25-26.2 - 20:29 (9:18 per Mile)
Training Breakdown
Mileage in 90 days leading up to Stratford - 233 miles (longest run of 15 miles)
Mileage in 90 days leading up to Rutland - 252 miles (longest run of 20 miles)
Monday, 2 May 2011
Training & My On Going Bike Maintenance Sagas
I put my four day weekend to good use,121 miles cycling and 11 miles running is a weekend well spent in my books. Other's might look at me rather oddly and tell me it's a waste of four beautiful days of sun. But I enjoyed it, and still found time for some beers and a trip to the pub.
On Thursday evening Dad and I had a mainteance malfunction. The Joe Blow bike pump was with Luke in Norfolk, so that left us with an old school hand pump, not designed for high pressure fancy bike tyres. We gave it a shot, and only succeeded in breaking the valve for the tyre.
I was now bikeless, this gave me the perfect opportunity to go for an 11 mile long run on Friday as a test for the Stratford Marathon next weekend. I'd give myself 5/10 pace was good, a little fast, but I had to work much harder than I should of. But theres no ducking out of the Marathon now, the hotel has been booked and the support crew is expanding with each day. So I'd better suck it up and get myself round, preferably with a PB or I'll be unbearable on the trip home.
Lauren and I got up early Saturday to go to Halfords to get a new pump that would allow me to fit the new tyre. I grabbed the last pump for the princely sum of 32quid! Lauren dropped me and my gear off at the parents and left me to mend the tyre, simple you would think given the amount of practise I have had lately! But alas 40mins and a whole lot of frustration later the pump wouldn't work and I was defeated, ready to call Lauren to come and pick me up. But as I locked up my rusty, sorry looking bike I saw my Dad's shiny new white racer and I just had to take it for a spin. So out I went on the slick new wheels and managed just under 37 miles on 4 loops of the Rayleigh, Rochford, Hockley circuit at an average of just under 16mph.
Followed that up with 48 miles on Sunday, 5 more loops of the circuit, slightly slower than Saturday, and definately slowed in the final third. Managed 35 more miles on Monday, the pace was again down on the previous two days but still well above 15mph.
I Got the flying white pace machine back to my Dad on Monday evening, and we got to work on my back tyre. It turns out I'm not quite as stupid as 40mins trying to pump up a tyre would suggest. Halfords had sold me the pump missing a few vital parts. So we used a working pump and got the tyre fixed in 10mins. I then cycled the 3 downhill miles home, and realised that my bike was in desperate need of some TLC!
On Thursday evening Dad and I had a mainteance malfunction. The Joe Blow bike pump was with Luke in Norfolk, so that left us with an old school hand pump, not designed for high pressure fancy bike tyres. We gave it a shot, and only succeeded in breaking the valve for the tyre.
I was now bikeless, this gave me the perfect opportunity to go for an 11 mile long run on Friday as a test for the Stratford Marathon next weekend. I'd give myself 5/10 pace was good, a little fast, but I had to work much harder than I should of. But theres no ducking out of the Marathon now, the hotel has been booked and the support crew is expanding with each day. So I'd better suck it up and get myself round, preferably with a PB or I'll be unbearable on the trip home.
Lauren and I got up early Saturday to go to Halfords to get a new pump that would allow me to fit the new tyre. I grabbed the last pump for the princely sum of 32quid! Lauren dropped me and my gear off at the parents and left me to mend the tyre, simple you would think given the amount of practise I have had lately! But alas 40mins and a whole lot of frustration later the pump wouldn't work and I was defeated, ready to call Lauren to come and pick me up. But as I locked up my rusty, sorry looking bike I saw my Dad's shiny new white racer and I just had to take it for a spin. So out I went on the slick new wheels and managed just under 37 miles on 4 loops of the Rayleigh, Rochford, Hockley circuit at an average of just under 16mph.
Followed that up with 48 miles on Sunday, 5 more loops of the circuit, slightly slower than Saturday, and definately slowed in the final third. Managed 35 more miles on Monday, the pace was again down on the previous two days but still well above 15mph.
I Got the flying white pace machine back to my Dad on Monday evening, and we got to work on my back tyre. It turns out I'm not quite as stupid as 40mins trying to pump up a tyre would suggest. Halfords had sold me the pump missing a few vital parts. So we used a working pump and got the tyre fixed in 10mins. I then cycled the 3 downhill miles home, and realised that my bike was in desperate need of some TLC!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
