Tough Going

Well, the 25 TT went ok on Sunday. I clocked 58:32, which is ok for that course. There are a few lumps towards the turn and it was never going to be a clocking close to my best. I seem to be able to go under the hour on any course now, which is something that I could not do last year. The tough part lately is adding running to my training. Man, after 4 months of no running my legs seem permanently sore from very little running! This, in turn, is making my biking feel like a real struggle. Now these whinges are not really that important because my legs should get used to running again. The bad bit is that my achilles is tender. I can run on it but it certainly is not back to normal. So far, I am up to 5k of running at a very slow 7:50 miling pace. It seems unbelievable that I ran London Marathon at sub-6:30 miling pace in 2008. I sure hope I can return to that level of running.

Last night I ran 5k and then went for a 15 mile spin on my TT bike. The legs felt the normal knotted mess! I reckon some massage would do me good at the moment. Plans for the rest of the week are to do the club 10 TT this evening (and watch Paul Fullalove burn past me no doubt!) and then have a couple of easy days before I race at an Open 10 mile TT on Saturday. The course is the F2b on the new A428 between Papworth and Cambridge. The surface is smooth and, if the conditions are right, some fast times are on the cards - if the legs decide to function properly! Paul and Hamish are racing too and PBs are possible, especially for Hamish. His current PB is on the Sawtry course, which I estimate to be about 1:30 slower than the F2b.

Listen to me! I must be turning into a TT tester! I speak in course codes and constantly study weather forecasts in the hope of understanding what difference air pressure will make on a TT effort. And on still warm evenings that I am not doing any TTs I curse the weather for not timing the good stuff for TT days. To be honest, I am looking forward to October so I can regroup and sort my head out with regard to training. World Long Course Triathlon in 2010 sounds good to me. However, if the achilles continues to hassle me then it's time to turn into a freaky full time tester.