Long Ride

Saturday 24th August.
Oh my what a day!
I wanted a long ride today and decided to go to Builth Wells in mid Wales again, as now I know the way and I like it up there.
I set of at about 9.30am and dammit the wind was in my face when I hit the road to head North and when I was on the open moor road it was tough going and despite it being cool and overcast, I was sweating like a pig.
Once in the relative shelter of hedgerows and hills the wind was more gentle.  I got to Talgarth sooner than expected and then before I knew it I was at Builth Wells. 
Now I must tell you that even at this late stage I am still experimenting with food for the long ride.  I am really worried about not getting it right for the big event in two weeks.  So today I made myself two soft white rolls, one with peanut butter and a bit of salt and the other with Tuna.  I wrapped them tight in cling film and they fitted in my jersey pocket.  I took along 6 caffeinated gels and a couple of energy bars.
I ate an energy bar after an hour and a half.  I still don't like them!
At Builth the plan was to eat one roll and save the other for later.  That didn't happen, I was so hungry and they were so nice I ate them both.  I sat next o the river and watched the ducks, it was so serene I wanted to stay longer.  But I now had to head home and there were lots of climbs in store so I had to leave.






It was nice not to have to check the map all the time.  I headed off on the B road which was a long climb out of the town.  I felt good and pedalled hard and paid less attention to the views.
I was surprised to get to Brecon with little effort.  I stopped briefly at garage to top up my water.









I knew there were big climbs coming up and then as I was climbing up the A470 I suddenly felt weak and shaky, I tried to ride through it but I just got worse.  I pulled into a layby and stopped.  I squidged a couple of gels down me and told myself that after I got to the top of this climb I would take the flatter and shortest route home.  After a few minutes I was back on the bike pedalling slowly upward.  Then I had a little talk to myself.  " What do you think you are doing, you don't give up when the going gets tough. You will feel ok in a bit and you will do the planned route with all the climbs.  What if you feel like this on the big day?  Get over it and get on with it!!"
And that's all I needed.  And I did feel better in a while and picked up the pace.
That's when I came across a selection of wood carvings on display.  I stopped to take pictures.






I carried on up and crested the hill to fly down the other side.  The downhill was short lived before I turned off and had another long climb to do, taking me past the Welsh Whiskey distillery.
Then a real test,  I was approaching the start of the biggest climb of the day.  By now I had covered almost 90 miles and was tired.  I kept telling myself I could take the flat route around instead of over the mountain.  But as  got to the round about I knew I would regret it if I wimped out.  So up I went and up and up and up.  A couple more gels helped and as I got to the last steep section I stood and pushed hard on the pedals.  Then the best bit of the day.  The tea van and the top makes the best tea and cheese roll.  I was so relieved to see the van.   I didn't spend long there as I didn't want to run out of day light and it was cold up there.









I put my jacket on as now I had lots of descending to do.  I flew down at over 40 miles an hour.
Once at the bottom it was a long flat ride to Pontypridd and for once I didn't get lost. 
Then I made a crazy choice!  Once I crossed under the main bypass, the route home should have been relatively flat.  But I was feeling great so decided to take the route over the mountain.  By now I had ridden just over 100 miles.
Well I didn't expect what came in the next few miles.  Climbs that were so steep I  found it hard to keep my front wheel on the ground and my legs were burning while turning the pedals.  It was hell and I had to keep checking where I was.  I had no idea most of the time.  It was frustrating having to stop so often but my legs were very grateful. I must say though, I earned some stunning views across the valleys.












  Eventually I popped out on the main road and I knew where I was again.
I felt ok and pushed hard to Ystrad Mynach.  Then the fatigue hit me again.  I felt weak and kept seeing flashing light in my peripheral vision.  I only had one short sharp climb and one long climb to do to get home.  I think I had another gel.
I got home just after 8.30pm.  I ate a Tuna roll and drank a glass of milk straight away as I knew I would not be able to eat later.  Once I fed my cats, I had a hot bath and then gave my legs a quick massage.  Even that seemed a chore, I was exhausted.
Then I managed to force a bowl of Blueberries, strawberries and yoghurt down.
My thighs are a little sore but my knees are really feeling it.  Must be all that hard climbing.
All in all I covered 116 miles and climbed 2956 metres but t did take me 9 hours 24 minutes ride time.

Start of a new week

Tuesday 20th August 2013
After the nightmare of last week, I am happy to report I am back! 
I rested yesterday, just did some stretching to ease the still slightly sore legs.
Today I was in the pool at 06.45am.  I did 100 lengths, mixing it up with a variety of sets of legs only arms only, one arm only and so on.
While I was going up and down the pool my mind kept wandering to my Mum and the last time we were in a pool together.  It was such a long time ago and I remember it so well.  I remember laughing at her reaction when I splashed her.  I felt myself smiling whilst reliving the moment.  We had so much fun.
That was followed by a hectic and trying day at work. 
This evening I warmed up and stretched well before my run.  I left the house and felt really good, I took a route that would have me taking in some short and long climbs.  Unfortunately that meant I had a few down hills.  I would rather not have to run down hill, its too harsh on my knees.
I ran for an hour and covered almost 6 miles.  I felt great all the way despite a slight pain in the right ham string and left knee. 
Once back home I did lots of stretching again to get shot of the pains.
I feel happy again that I am back on track.

Profile of the run

Run route

This weeks training ( or lack of )

The bee sting that I got last Saturday had an awful effect.
My thigh somehow became infected and it ballooned as well as being painful and most unsightly.
The Doc gave me antibiotics on Monday and recommended I rest. He wasn't very helpful and when I asked for something to cover it so  could swim, he said I should have gone to the hospital not to him.
Nice!
I must admit I was pretty freaked out by it all.  Up to now my training had been going so well.  Now I had to take a break.
It was the right thing I know, but that didn't help my mental attitude.  I was in pain from the top of my thigh to my knee and I wanted it to be better.
By Wednesday my leg looked disgusting.  Where I work we share a building with lots of medical professionals so I went and sought advice.
A nurse gave me some time and I could see by her face she was shocked when she saw my leg.  But she was lovely and gave me a full explanation about what was going on and what was best.  I was really silly and ended up in tears, out of frustration.
She made me understand why I felt so sick and drained all the time and suggested other painkillers too.

So I had to resign myself to taking a break.  I was being woken every night by the pain and was uncomfortable all day.  Anyway it started looking better after Wednesday and on Friday evening I decided to go for a gentle run. 
I couldn't believe my luck.... within 100 metres my leg was in agony and I had to stop, I just turned around and walked home.  I think I ought to have loosened up more before setting off.
I did lots of stretching then and in hindsight I should have been stretching every night even though I wasn't training.
On Saturday 17th I went for a mountain bike ride. After about 90 minutes I felt like I had pulled my left ham string so to prevent further injury I cut the ride short.  Again once I got home I did loads of stretching.
Sunday 18th August,  three weeks to the big event.
I wanted to run today but was worried about my legs, my ham string still felt tight and my right thigh was still hurting.
I stretched my legs out as soon as I got up and massaged them with Tiger Balm. I had a light breakfast and then  I did some house work and cleaned out my garden shed just to get my leg muscles nice and warm.
By 11am ish I was set for the road.  I set off very gently half expecting to be hit by some pain somewhere.  Nope, I felt ok.  After 20 minutes or so I was still ok and I cant tell you how relieved I was.  The pain in my right thigh wasn't bothering me, it only hurts to touch and is bruised, but when running its ok.
A few times I had to stop and stretch as I could feel my muscles tightening.  I ran slowly all the way
but I managed to run 12 miles.
Once home I stretched a bit and jumped into an ice cold bath.  It works wonders on overused muscles if you can stand to get in.  Just 10 minutes in the cold water and out again.  Then I spent ages stretching and massaging my aching legs.  I was very tired and quite cold so dressed warm and sat outside in the sun and fell asleep for a while. 
Then I had to sort out my road bike, the brakes completely wore out on my last long ride so I replaced the front and rear brake blocks.
And since the sun was till shinning I cut my grass.
I am absolutely shattered now and am looking forward to bed.
I will rest tomorrow as per my programme and start again on Tuesday. I only have two weeks of full training left.  Eek!

Location:Blackwood

Long Run

Sunday 11th August 2013.
After yesterdays epic ride I my legs were feeling it this morning, but worse than that .... if you read my blog about the ride yesterday, you will know about the savage bee attack.
My legs felt weary, but I put my shoes on and headed down to the nearby village before heading up on a narrow country lane.  It went up and up relentlessly. But from the vantage point I had great views to distract me from the pain and effort.
                                
                                    
Then I had a long long descent to Pendine Sands that I walked down to save my knees.

Once down I stopped to watch young families playing on the vast beach.
                          

I carried on back to the caravan park along the coast road and was really feeling knackered and struggled to keep going. 

Laugharne Castle
 

Once back in the village I ran hard up the final climb to the park.   13 miles in 3 hours.
My leg felt like it was on fire!



 

All in all a good weekends training.  I am still a painfully slow runner and I guess I always will be as I am too lazy to run more.

Saturdays Tenby Ironman Ride

Saturday  10th August 2013
Today I rode the full Ironman course. The opportunity came up to stay in a friends caravan at Laugharne near Tenby, it was too good to miss and I have been worried about the course and how I will get on with it.
So I left after work on Friday. I packed quickly and headed West. The caravan park is lovely and the big static caravan is very spacious and comfortable. 
 I didn't do my swim on Friday morning, I just felt tired and wasn't able to persuade myself to go like I usually do. Other pressures are getting to me.  So I was pleased to be doing this ride.
I had a good nights sleep and woke feeling refreshed this morning . After a good breakfast and mixing my energy drinks for the day, I drove the 30 minutes to Tenby. I found a cheap all day car park and by 9.45am I was pedalling West toward Pembroke and Angle. To my surprise a lot of people were doing exactly the same as me, test riding the course.   I had decided that I would break the ride down into bite size chunks of 10 miles at a time. I rode into Angle with two young guys I met on the ride from The Cardiff Triathlon club. They are experienced Triathletes and offered me some good advice about mental preparation and also gave me a boost by telling me that I was cycling well and strong. They continued on ahead of me as we looped back toward Pembroke up a steep hill. It was a lovely day, slightly overcast with a breeze.   I got a bit lost after Pembroke and at first got a bit stressed over that, but soon chilled out. It didn't really matter too much as long as I got the miles in. I eventually got back on the right road.   My detour took me past Anna's Welsh Zoo.
When I got to Narberth the two Cardiff guys waved me down outside a Spar shop. I told them about my detour and we compared mileage, I had done the same as them, 55 miles, so nothing lost. I bought a tuna roll and topped up my water bottle. The guys offered for me to ride with them so I didn't get lost again but I declined. I wanted to stick to my own pace. They asked how I was feeling and told me I was looking great, what a boost!   They explained which way to go before leaving me to eat my roll.
I carried on and after two junctions I got confused about the way, but lucky for me another two guys came along and invited me to ride with them.   Again two experienced triathletes but I was able to keep up with them easily.  They told me stories of previous Ironman events they had done. 
I am glad I rode with them as I would definitely have got lost again. They stopped at Wisemans Bridge and I continued alone again.
The next two climbs were brutal on tired legs.   Once past Saundersfoot there were a few climbs before eventually arriving back in Tenby. 70 miles done.  I stopped at the garage, bought a sandwich and water and headed for my car. Just as I approached the car park I saw an elderly lady trying to cross the road. She missed her footing and fell over backwards. I rushed to help her, she was unhurt just shaken.  Her daughter appeared and we got the lady up.
I went on my way. I got to my car, scoffed my sandwich while I mixed energy powder into my fresh water bottle. I also ate some Pretzels and the salt content was much appreciated.   I then set off again for the second loop. I was feeling good and put a bit of zip in my pedalling.   I only had 4 chunks of ten miles to do now.  The sky was pretty dark with black clouds looming. I fully expected to get very wet. This time round I got to Narberth with only one wrong turn and the two Cardiff guys were at the Spar shop again. We had a quick chat and I was really pleased to have caught up with them. They left shortly after I got there. I bought another Tuna roll and more water, before heading off again. At least I knew the way now. Then a painful mishap! I was lucky really. It was a fast section of road and a bee hit me on the face, then it dropped onto my thigh and stung me through my Lycra shorts. It was bloody painful, I swiped it off my leg letting out a loud yelp! It hurt like hell and actually drew a spot of blood.  At least I never got stung in the face!
 
I kept my pace up and still felt good.   Each ten mile section that passed made me smile, counting them down was satisfying and made the ride less daunting.
I pushed up the last few climbs and when I got back  to Tenby I rode up the big hill to have a look at the sea.  By now I had ridden 108 hilly miles. I stopped at a vantage point and admired the view for several minutes.
The sea looked so inviting, I wished I had brought my swimming gear as I definitely would have gone for a quick swim.

Admiring the view.

Wishing I was down there.

 I found it hard to tear myself from the view, but I was on a mission so I whizzed back down the hill to my car. I packed the bike quickly and rushed back to the caravan park. As soon as I got there I put my trainers on and went for a short 20 minute run.
It was a great days training and breaking the ride up into 10 mile chunks is now my game plan for the event.  Only eleven of them babies to get out of the way.
I did loads of stretching that evening. The bee sting on my thigh was still hurting but I reckoned it would be gone by morning.

Location:Tenby. Wales

Tuesday swim and run

Tuesdays are tough days for me. An early start, getting up at 5.15am to get to the pool before work. Today was no different, I struggled to get up. But I was relieved as I felt better than I expected to. Last night I felt rough, like I had a cold coming on. But I didn't. So off I went to the pool. It was the busiest it's ever been and I had to dodge swimmers. Today all I had to do was swim a straight 3 km. Due to all the dodging, the first 30 minutes was quite frustrating. It took 1 hr 20 minutes to complete the 3km. I was happy enough with that.
My day at work was pretty fraught and I didn't feel like running when I got home. I seem to have conditioned my mind over the months to get me out training no matter how I feel. I decided to take a new route for a change. It meant two steep climbs but that's what I wanted. I did a 6 mile run and pushed hard for the last 15 minutes and up those climbs. It hurt like hell but I reminded myself that I was pain training.
I did stretch afterwards but my calves are still sore.
I'm glad Tuesday is over for another week. They are my hardest days.


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Sunday Long Run

Sunday 4th August 2013

After yesterdays long ride, I woke feeling very achy and tired.  I just didn't feel like a big run.  So I told my self I will be guided by my resting heart rate this morning.  If it was high then I could legitimately excuse myself from the run.  So I lay in bed and checked my heart rate.  I was most surprised to find it was 45 BPM.  No excuses then.
I got up and ate a good breakfast of eggs, tomatoes and a bagel.
It was raining cats and dogs out so that didn't help.  I nipped out to the bike shop for a new chain.
Still it was raining so I did some work for a couple of hours, proper work for my employers.

Eventually I accepted it wasn't going to stop raining so got changed and off I went.
I did my usual loop and to my surprise reached my usual halfway point 4 minutes quicker than before.  Whilst I was pleased, it was a double edged sword as this meant I had to run further to get my time in.  I felt much better on this run than I did last Sunday after the long ride.
 I opted for the river side route and it was a bit different due to all the rain.  The usual babbling brook was a torrent of brown water rushing along its meandering course making the sweetest rushing noise.
As I got back up onto the road I took the longer way home and this took me up two long gradients. A few drivers who recognised me hooted and waved.
It was still raining really hard and I was grateful for the cool drops on my skin.
By time I got home I had run 12 miles and  was happy with that as my usual pains didn't develop.
This means the stretching, icing and self massage is working.