Hot Hot Heat...

I did have a thought when I started writing this blog that all the titles should be band or song names, but gave up on the idea as too difficult....turns out it would have been easy - I've had loads of ideas the last week.

Anyway, that was apropos of nothing - although it may have seemed easier over the last couple of weeks because there haven't been so many blog updates.

I promise that's not because I haven't been training, but more because I've been busy with various other things which have meant that I haven't been in much.

The bulk of my training in the last few days has been 'threshold' sessions - whether that be Time-Trial laps of Richmond Park (including my first one under 20 mins...not particularly impressive in the real world - but good for me..) or short hill climb repeats.

As the title suggests, the last few days have been very hot, with temperatures above 30 degrees making training pretty difficult. I did a 'hard' - albeit flat - 40 miles yesterday with most of it being at threshold heart rates. I was pleased that I could maintain this level for most of the ride, and in the end my average pace was around 18 mph, which is a good sign, as that includes a fair bit of slowing down for lights and traffic, and easy warm-up/warm-down periods.

It felt ok when I was on the bike, but as soon as I got in I suddenly felt very fatigued and needed a lie-down. I'm pretty sure this was because I just hadn't drunk enough - a continual failing on my part.

It was a good lesson, because although the temperatures are unusual for England, it wouldn't be unrealistic for temperatures to be the same or even higher for the Etape itself. It's clear my hydration strategy needs honing and improving.

By coincidence, we got more really useful advice on that - as well as loads of other good stuff - at our second Etape 'Workshop' at Sky this afternoon.

We had presentations from Andrew Croker - who's ridden all Les Etapes; Pro rider Yanto Barker and the guys from Cyclefit.

Between them, they talked about nutrition and hydration strategies, the practicalities of an Etape, and also tips from Cyclefit's recce of the Etape Route.

It was all surprisingly reassuring - Andrew particularly reinforcing the idea that my strategy of 'just finishing' and not worrying about times etc., is a perfectly reasonable aspiration for a first-timer.

Today's riding was just easy 'recovery' stuff, although it was again very hot. I did use some of it to cycle down to Sigma Sport to treat myself to some pre-Etape purchases - of which more in later posts - and then I cycled up to Sky for the workshop. I left the bike there, because it's due to be serviced tomorrow and I'll pick it up on Thursday after my next physiotherapy session.

The knee was a bit sore yesterday, because I had a small crash after being cut up by a car on a roundabout - nothing major, just fell on to a grassy verge after being understandably unsettled by almost being mown down. Would have been no big deal except that I didn't get a chance to unclip before falling, so there was a bit of twisting on the knee as I hit the ground. Not too bad today though, and I'm hoping some of my purchases could help to ameliorate the situation.

This week's stats:

Weight: 10 st 12 lbs

Body Fat: 16.1%

Visceral Fat Rating: 5

Basal Metabolic Rate: 1675 kcal / 7008 kJ

Muscle Mass: 8 st 9 lbs

Water: 58.5%