Less than a week to go until Lap The Lough 2010 and it’s all gone quiet over Rain Miles way? Pesky work. Pesky real life.
I’ll attempt a summary of the last couple of weeks.
Following on from my 25 mile fuel experiment commute, I squeezed in another couple of 20-25 mile rides that week. The first went well, but I was very tired starting the second and it took a while to get going properly. A puncture at five miles out almost had me turning back, but I persevered and eventually found some mojo towards the middle of the ride.
On the Sunday after that, Graham, Allan and I took in another lap of Strangford Lough to rack up a decent 50 mile training ride. I wasn’t feeling great and almost cried off on the Saturday, but Graham invoked the Chicken Noise Protocol, and under the terms of the Man Code I was therefore required to accept the challenge. That was how I found myself in Newtownards at 8:30am on Sunday morning with legs that I wasn’t sure would last the day.
The weather was being kind for once, bright and sunny with not much wind. We made decent time to Portaferry, but my hamstrings were feeling tight and I wasn’t in the mood for pushing anyway. After crossing on the ferry, heeding the old advice about not paying the ferryman, the run across to Downpatrick was completed very quickly but the hillier terrain up the other side of the lough to Comber proved to be more of a challenge. I’d had a few crampy twinges so I was holding back and protecting my legs, especially on the hills, and I guess it was working as I wasn’t getting any worse.
When we rolled into Newtownards again with 50-odd miles on the clock I was still feeling the same. Although this may sound bad, I took it as encouragement for Lap The Lough as I also felt I could have gone on for a good few miles more. I think the fitness is there for the event. Hurrah!
This last week however I started to feel progressively worse. A drenched 25 mile commute on Wednesday probably didn’t help, and on Friday I came down with an ear infection. I’ve been prescribed a course of antibiotics to treat it which, from experience, will leave me feeling listless, nauseous and bloody awful just in time for Lap The Lough this coming Sunday.
Keep Calm and Carry On, Regardless
I’m glad this is taper week, I really don’t feel like training. I’ll maybe try a short/medium commute midweek just to see how it feels and gauge how much effort is sustainable for Sunday, but that’ll be it. Sleep, I hope, will feature heavily this week.
Still, carry on regardless, matron. I’ll be there on race day.
Don’t forget! You can sponsor me for Lap The Lough 2010 and help blind and partially sighted people through RNIB NI. You can donate online using major debit or credit cards, or directly via PayPal to donations@sponsorjohn.com. Please consider supporting this worthy cause! Thanks!
