40 Goals

Been hit over the head by something evil. Elevated RHR of almost 90 (!) chesty cough, blocked nose, high temperature, the shivers followed by chucking out more BTUs than a 3kw electric fire. Needless to say riding hasn't been happening, watching my CTL plummet is as demoralising  as it is motivational when watching it rise. But I got a message from Bob - my SRM cranks turn up on Monday woohoo!!!

Yep. Summer (what Summer?) died at 10.30am this morning. This is global warming baby. A quick search on google for 'August', 'weather' and 'since records began' reveals that 2004, 2007 and now 2008 have been the wettest, coldest and least sunny Augusts since records began in 1914. With a trend like that you can safely say that a UK summer is now something we will only read about in the history books. Spring is next on the hit list. If you like heat and sun but don't like rain then go live in Australia. Time to get some shares in RacerMate , Tacx , Saris and Kurt Kinetic .

Don't ask. I'm in pre-prep-base training phase with Build phase peaking sometime around April 2009. I cannot believe how quickly you can lose fitness. But, with spring here and a fresh new leaf I'm on it. Just need to form two habits, namely; Exercise every day Eat less every day Simple. The everday exercise is running since it is so time efficient when you're not fit. I'll mix in cycling when I get a bit fitter and at the weekends when it's not raining. The Computrainer gets a recovery ride in the evenings but thats mostly to stop me drinking or eating!! I have thrown in turbo sessions in the morning but they are NO FUN when you're rubbish.

Well. Fell off for a few months. Fags, Booze, Chips, Chocolate. I've been bad. But like all good (?) things they have to come to an end. Largely in me being 2 stones heavier than I was at L'Etape and unable to ride at pace for more than an hour. Where did it all go wrong? Burn out man, burn out. I have an obsessive personality - I'm either riding 2hrs+ a day and eating pulses and raw fish or sitting on the sofa stuffing my face with chocolate. There is nothing in between! As you can imagine the Marmotte is a non-starter this year, but I need to get back into decent shape ready to train for the London Marathon next year. And I'm starting to crave those rides in the hills ... before it became a chore and was actually a bit of fun? Anyways ... fags and fat are gone. Let see if I can get some value for money out of this here computrainer ... shit I reckon so far its been the most expensive clothes horse in history... I reckon losing 10 kilos is reasonable given I'm near...

I've been very quiet, apologies. I'm doing the weekly long run and getting other sessions (incuding the turbo and hills) in during the week. I've got to admit that running isn't very interesting! Went for a run, had a tweak in my ankle. Went for a run, felt ok. Went for a run, shins ached etc. etc. it makes for a dull old blog! Its not like there is any interesting gadgetry or training regimes. You just run. I've got a forerunner and a schedule and just keep at it. I'm not made for this kind of training ;-) I'm going to sign up for next year's Etape - if I can't get in to that then either the Marmotte or Campag Gran Fondo will be next on my hit list. I'm missing the bike :-( I'm sure London and NY marathons are going to be an awesome experience but frankly I'd rather be on my bike.

Went out for just over 2 hours yesterday and felt dreadful for the first half an hour. I'm beginning to realise that I'm not really cut out for this endurance running melarkey. I think I'll stick to cycling after the marathon. It hurts too much during the run and then in the recovery afterwards. My ankles are sore, my calves are a little tight and knees have a tweak. You don't get that on the bike. Maybe I need to get rid of the negative head and run more regularly ... or maybe less. Yeesh.

FFS. Is there no escape?

Caged Tiger Summer is definitely here then. Glastonbury. Rain. Summer Solstice at Stonehenge. Rain. Plucky Brits at SW19. Rain. Will this damn rain ever subside? Its been such a frustrating week - when I was ready to ride it rained. When I couldn't ride the sun shone. Took the lad to the Slipstreamers yesterday got back in the afternoon, it rained. Got up this morning ready to ride. It rained. BBC tells me it'll be clear through till this afternoon, shame it's raining cats and dogs right now then. I actually WANT to go riding, not interested in the training benefit. Ho hum. Off to see Shrek 3 with the kids at 4pm, no doubt we'll get a heat wave. S'pose it'll be a good opportunity to clean and service my bike ... especially the drivetrain - it needs a little TLC. Of course, I can afford to be a little smug. I'm off to Grenoble next Sunday for the Alpe D'Huez ride and with a week in the Alps I'll certainly be doing a lot more riding besides. I am defin...

Sometimes you need to just get on with it. I went out for a ride in the Sunday sunshine and eventually managed to enjoy myself. Sometimes it feels like a merry-go-round in the Surrey hills. Lots of roadies all whizzing round and round training hard, with zero fun. I managed 3 hours before I decided to hop off the merry-go-round and skive off into the lanes of Sussex. Bliss. Made me realise that I had forgotten why I like riding my bike. Also made me realise that I haven't been cycling with my wife for months. I missed her as I cruised around the hazy lanes in the glorious sunshine. We both watch these lanes change over the seasons, from wintry bleakness to autumn blizzards and now summer birdsong and nettles. Felt strong but every day I can feel my confidence ebbing away ... I guess its some kind of performance anxiety kicking in ... exactly one month till the Alpe TT. Gulp. The usual

Lost my mojo The sun is shining, its Sunday. Bike is ready to go. I've got an all day pass. What more could I ask for? So why am I disinterested in hitting the hills today? I am having to force myself to ride. How the hell does that work on a day like today? Is this what it feels like to burn out? Putting on my bibs and jersey actually feel like putting on my suit and going to work. Yeesh.

FWC - 8:24 Update : Power data uploaded and as suspected my power numbers are down significantly for the day. Average power 160w versus typically 190 for hilly rides. All critical power numbers are down. Its official. I was ill. Bit of a mixed bag really. Really happy with the time since I was under the weather, crap preparation and really crap nutrition strategy on the day. These are just excuses though since its my responsibility to get these things right. Looking through the results I came 394th of 632 riders. 315 riders broke 8 hours this year compared to 200 last year, so the conditions were good. Weather on the day was awesome with the only real rain kicking in as I finished the Wrynose descent. I on the other hand was appallingly underpowered on the day, struggled to get over 250w with a high HR. We camped the night before and I got little sleep and caught a chest infection which left me a little short of breath. Kicked off early and forgot (!) to have breakfast. What a Wally. ...