Sleaford Wheelers Charity 10

 I competed in this Charity 10 mile time trial yesterday. Well, when I say competed, I mean that I was there and I rode my bicycle around the course for 10 miles - in no way could I say that I was competitive.

I think its time to delve deep into the tombola of excuses !

- I didn't feel fully OK
- The brake was rubbing
- There was a side wind and I got battered
- My wheels were too deep for that course
- There was some inclines which I don't like
- I didn't have any mojo !

Pick any combination of these excuses and then apply them to my very poor time of 27.22 which gave me 55th place out of 85 on the day. I should and have been a couple of minutes quicker than that to be fair and must get my house in order ready for Tuesdays Lincoln Wheelers 5.

I should have competed in the East Leake Sprint tri today, but have binned that due to not fancying getting out of the pool in zero degrees and instead went on a club run where I feel much better - roll on Tuesday now cos I've a point to prove !

Lincolnshire RRA 25m TT

This won't be a massively long read I'm afraid....

Today I took part in my first 25 mile time trial which was being run by the Lincolnshire Road Riding Association (LRRA) - and there was a massive Lincoln Wheelers involvement - either riding, or giving up their time marshalling.

The course was the C25/3 which is rolling in places and sporting. I chose to stay with the same set up as last time out, keeping the disc covers on the back reasoning that there would be plenty of straight flat sections where the covers would be a real benefit.

I was hoping to keep an average of 23mph which would mean a finish of 1.05 and for the first couple of miles of the course with fresh legs I managed this comfortably, however I soon turned onto the B1133 and into a fresh headwind and watched the average speed dwindle to a low point of 22.5mph, as I turned left at the Bestwick turn. From this point it was a real battle against the wind and the elements (it had started to rain too) , which meant a had a continuous eye on the clock, using alternating my gears to keep my legs moving, whilst trying to edge up the average speed to 23mph as planned.

I nearly got there too, as it registered 22.9mph in the end, which took me across the finish line in 1.05.27 and 33rd place out of 77 finishers on the day.

Cambridge Half Marathon

There were two objectives that I had set going into todays half marathon :

1 - Don't pick up any injuries

2 - Try and get round under 2 hours !

This was to be my first standalone half since October 2011 when I managed a 1.48 in Worksop. A succession of niggling injuries following last years calf buster at the Relays meant that my preparation hadn't been great for today, but it could have been worse - so I was treating this as a bit of a long slow run in truth as it fitted in with week 20 of my Ironman training plan.

The weather in Cambridge today was very cold with sleet in the air. For the first time ever I even elected to wear a bin bag to the start in an attempt to keep warm ! Boy, it was freeeeezing !!!!!!!

I chose the 1.30 to 2.00 pen which was rammed, which was not such a bad thing as there was a lot of body heat in the crammed conditions to keep everyone warm whilst we waited the ten minutes for the start. Start we did at a smidge past 9.30 and it was away from the warmth of the mass hug, and out into the wind and the sleet of the race ! 

The first mile was a mish-mash of weaving around people and walking pace bottlenecks which was a little frustrating to say the least - indeed, because of the congestion I found myself on the path a lot of the time ! A 9.07 first mile then, and I thought that this had maybe set the tone for the rest of the race. but a second mile at 8.25 coupled with a trot through Cambridge city centre brightened me up no end and I settled into a race that I was enjoying despite the conditions. It didn't matter what the course threw up - be it bridges, cobbles or even the boring bit that zig zags through Jesus Green - I just enjoyed it. The first lap came to an end and my Garmin said an average of 8.36 m/m which was quicker than expected - mind you, I still had the 2nd lap to negotiate and a further 6 miles - so I just kept calm and took each mile as it came.

The course was a lot better second time around as there were less people around and the field had strung out ! The sleet had stopped and it felt a little warmer - I was also still ticking off miles at a steady 8.30 something average - with each passing mile I was postponing the decision to take the last few miles a little easier and by the time I took the water from the very last aid station at 11 miles I had decided to just go for it the whole way. After one last diversion through the boring part of Jesus Green we were heading across the main road to the finish on Midsummer Common. Mile 13 passed, and then mile 13.1 passed - by this point it was obvious that the course was long as I turned down the finishing chute and whilst all around me were tear arseing in a sprint finish - I was content to amble down safely making sure I didn't get too giddy and tear something.

1.53.58 for my first half marathon in 18 months and the furthest run I've managed in 9 months - not a bad mornings jogging all in all.