It's been a long while since I last blogged and there is no real reason apart from being busy!
Lots has been happening since I last wrote, namely my increase in cycling and decrease in running! Also I had my beloved race bike (my Felt F5) stolen out of the back of my car when I was just about to ride it again after 6 months of being tucked up asleep for the winter.
I literally had popped into a friend's house for a quick catch up and it was gone! I couldn't believe it, my pride and joy was gone. The police support and general friends support over social media was instantaneous and very helpful, however the prospects of retrieving the bike were very low and I knew from the outset that the bike would unlikely be handed back to me. Immediately I began researching my next wheels of choice, and after looking around briefly, I decided upon the new Giant Envie (or Fruit Salad as she is now called!) and having some exceptional insurance, and also a massive advantage in working for a cycling company, I chose the bike with great advice from Will. It is ladies specific and an Aero Road bike, with some great aero features, and a great price tag! I just have to say that I am really glad that my bike was insured, because even though I had it locked in a car, they still took it and it was worth over £2000 including parts and accessories. Luckily I have friends in the police who are also cyclists who were very kind to me and supportive, but otherwise I have a feeling that they wouldn't have looked very far... I have to say that if someone broke into your house and stole £2000 then it might be a different story. Also keep photos of your bike, with all upgrades etc as that was useful for verification of the bike's value.
Using my discount to my advantage, I also managed to get a bargain on some tri bars, and pedals, a really sweet ride and certainly better than my old bike in terms of spec. A real delight to ride as it is stiff, responsive and light as anything. I do need to upgrade the wheels, but my bank balance is craving some rest at the moment.
As for the running, this has been almost non-existent up until last week. My right ankle has been playing havoc with me, which I twisted way back in February when I went skiing. I have rested and rested and rested it, and finally on Friday I decided to go for a little run, and although it was mainly pain free initially, afterwards it was a little bit sore. I have accepted that the probability of running training this season is going be to very limited, and therefore focus on the bike would be more important. I have been attending a few local Bike TTs to try and improve my sharpness ahead of the races I have lined up this summer. I have been a bit more conservative about the races, especially given that my A race is the Vitruvian at the end of August. I want to conserve my legs but also my wallet! Having said that, I have literally just put my registration in for the 2014 edition of the Mallorca 70.3 Ironman event. This is something which I toyed with doing for 2013, but with the London marathon it was never going to fit. Having seen the responses from the people I know racing over there this past weekend, I am keen as mustard to give it a go, and have just received my confirmation email ...
- 22nd June Dambuster Olympic Triathlon- aiming to improve on my performance from last year
- 30th June Oakham Sprint Triathlon- on my own doorstep and on the roads I cycle on, so will be a good event to support!
- 21st July Deva Divas Sprint Triathlon- a relay event with my Mum and has become something of a tradition!
- 31st August The Vitruvian Middle Distance Triathlon- my first ever half iron distance event!
Other than those races, I did have a couple more lined up, but having just paid the entry for Mallorca 70.3, I think that those few will be enough! I have a few long distance rides planned, and hopefully I can get stronger on the bike, and post some faster bike split times given the past 6 weeks of cycling! I am managing at least 3 rides a week, and have averaged over 100 miles per week. I am trying my best to keep the bike work going, and given that I have a bike fit scheduled for the week (check out http://www.rutlandcycling.com/article/777/professional-bike-fit.html) I had better get performing!
In other news, my other half Will competed as part of a team at the weekend in the Rat Race: Dirty Weekend at Burghley House, Stamford. It was a 20mile course of obstacles such as climbing through cars and over 6ft high walls! He really enjoyed it! Credit to the team (Photos below) as they did fantastically well despite the toilet queues, and poor organisation!
150m of monkey bars though was a bit destroying.
Will and his teammates: Paul, Michelle, Alex and Heath
Happy Training Everyone!
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