Weeks 20/21

Week 20

Swim:    2 miles

Bike:      0 miles

Run:       15 miles

Week 21

Swim:    0 miles

Bike:      80 miles

Run:       7 miles

A couple days late this week (the blog, not my menstrual cycle); all will be explained hereafter. The training has been a bit sporadic over the last two weeks. I had a job interview (which went well- thanks for asking) and coursework is ramping up, so I’m finding it difficult to strike a balance. I tried to get my rest week in week 20 and start up again in week 21.

In an attempt to kick start my return to training I scheduled a long ride for last Friday. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so great Friday morning, so I hit the gym in the morning then squeezed 40 miles in in the afternoon. That felt fine, so I decided to take advantage of the good weather and get a 25 miler in with the tri club on Saturday morning- its normally good fun and a much needed bit of social-training time. The ride included a couple of big climbs and I was pleased with the way I managed them...then the fun started...

As the weather was so good the notion of adding another 10 miles was banded around and rather than sticking to my training plan I decided to accept the challenge (despite only coming out with a bottle of water that was now all but empty). 5 or 6 miles in I was struggling to keep up with the pack. In essence, I melted. Thankfully one of the more experienced guys kept dropping back to give me a push every so often and make sure I got home in one piece. Legend. That session took me pretty close to my limit and ruined me for the rest of the weekend. I spent the rest of Saturday in bed feeling disgusting (thankfully the 6 nations triple header and ‘take me out’ were on TV). I didn’t train Sunday and I’m going to go at 50% until I’m feeling better. Its Tuesday now and my appetite still isn’t back to 100%. Nightmare.

Lesson learnt though. Stick to the training plan and make sure I bring enough rations (energy drink/sweets) for the miles I’m going to cover. This has been my first set back and its been a bit of shock to be honest. Still, that’s what it’s all about I guess. Hopefully things will pick up next week!

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