No Excuses

So, today's the last post before I do the Dragon Ride on Sunday, so here's a quick update on where I'm at. I've been training pretty well the last few days, which makes a change after the ups and downs of the last six weeks or so.

I've mostly been doing pretty hard one hour interval sessions on the Turbo Trainer - because the weather's been pretty terrible, and also because this strength training is what I've really been missing out on over the last few weeks.

I've definitely noticed an improvement in my performance at threshold heart rates, and my recovery from working at these high rates - so much so, that occasionally I've had difficulty getting my heart rate back up to the threshold level after a recovery interval.

I was supposed to do an easy hour this afternoon, as per my British Cycling training schedule, so just went up to Richmond Park for a relaxed lap. I could definitely feel the difference compared to even a week ago, with my heart rate staying at a much lower level, for longer, than it has been for a while now, which is great. I also feel like I've recovered a fair amount of strength in my quads, so all in all I'm in the best shape I've been in for ages.

I also went to see the doctor yesterday about the IT band friction syndrome in my knee. I was very honest with her, and admitted that I wasn't going to be able to rest for the next six weeks, so I was just looking for the best ways to manage it. She said that I'd been doing the right thing with the stretching and icing, and just to take lots of ibuprofen to try to keep down any inflammation.  My management regime seems to have been going pretty well though, and although there is always some soreness in the knee, it seems to have reduced somewhat, and certainly hasn't got worse.

The 'long range' weather forecast for Bridgend and environs has been changing almost hourly, but at the moment, it looks ok. Overnight rain forecast to ease off by 6am, and then the rest of the day cloudy, but dry, with temperature of around 18 degrees and very light winds. As long as it does stay dry, those are almost ideal conditions.

I'm also going to have loads of support, because we're going to stay with my sister's in-laws in Bridgend, so between them, my sister and Paul, her husband, that's at least 4 people I won't want to let down by not getting round. Mainly, it'll be lovely to have the support though, and I know they'll be fantastic.

I think the important thing is that I really want to finish the Dragon, because that should give me loads of confidence for the Etape, as I'll know that I can at least do the distance. To try and ensure that, I'm going to have to try to take it really steadily, and tuck in to groups where I can, to conserve energy. I've never been interested in my time for the Etape, because I just want to finish, and the same goes for the Dragon. I have to remember that 4 months ago I'd never cycled further than 45 'flat' miles, so just finishing something like this will be a really big achievement.

The scale of that challenge was brought home to me again this afternoon, as I watched today's stage of the Dauphine Libere - a 9 day stage race that's a warmup for the Tour de France. The stage finished, as the Etape will, at the top of Mont Ventoux. It looked, frankly, BRUTAL. To my eyes, the pro's were struggling even more than on the big climbs during the recent Giro d'Italia, and there were clearly some very, very stiff gradients to go with the searing temperatures. I always knew it was going to be tough, but with just over 5 weeks to go, it's really starting to hit home!