Today I planned to do the 40k Stonehenge stomp but I wasn’t as fit as I needed to be and so about about 30k in I decided to take the quicker route back. In the end, I did 32k in a smidgen over 3 hours. I got to the second checkpoint – 10k – in under 50 minutes but then slowed hugely, especially when I ended power walking up a really long, steep hill. I found the 23k – 32k bit quite tough.
I fell at about 12k. I was approaching a group of walkers on a downhill, rutted path. I moved left before a hard right turn and one of them moved left and so I had to move further left and tripped on some frozen ruts, landing on my left side. I carried on but my left wrist and quad took most of the weight.
The event was value for money. Only £2. And for that you get a well signposted course, plus drinks, sweets and biscuits at the aid station.
StonehengeStomp2011
Yesterday I got a severe dose of realism. Training for Lanzarote in the winter is hard. I am not doing as much bike work as I want to and that doesn’t feel good. I am not being as tight with the planning as I need to be and so I let things slip. Not good.
My healthy eating campaign did not go well either 6 days of good weight loss and then I put it all back on. It’s hard to eat healthy! So, I have now moved on to Plan B.
Plan B is a strict, 100% rule. No chocolate, cakes, croissants, waffles, buns, muffins, biscuits, sweets, chips or Chinese takeaway.
On Saturday I did a good 80 minute run. So it’s not all as bad as I make out…
Not an auspicious start to the year doing my first outside bike ride on the 16th January. But this has been the first weekend when it has not been sub-zero and family stuff. In fact, if you ignore the MTB rides, the time before was the 23 November. Oh dear. That’s not good for an Ironman in Lanzarote. But I have been on the Wattbike 28 times in between (plus three MTB rides) so it is not as bad as it could be.
Today’s ride was very windy but at least it wasn’t cold and it didn’t rain too much. I got a puncture because of a thorn in my tire but otherwise it was an ok ride.
I think my plan now has to be to choose my route in advance, map it on the gps and make sure it is on bigger roads rather than on the windy, potholed, muddy, gravel covered ones.
Yesterday I entered the Bramley 10 mile race in February. I’ve also decided to do the 40k Stonehenge Stomp at the end of the January. That will hopefully encourage me to do a little more running.