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Tuesday 29 May 2012

What a week! A new 10 mile PB and two course PB's!!

  A very pleasing week, although racing 4 times in eight days has left me feeling a bit smashed....
  After my rapid ride in the ECCA 50 on Saturday, I faced my first big target of the season on the Wednesday – smashing the 22 minute barrier on the quick B10/3 course at Wymondham.  I knew I was fit enough to do it, I just needed a kind day.  And it was pretty much a perfect evening!

  I clocked a massively enjoyable 21:43 which (again) I slightly overcooked in the middle part but don’t think it made any difference to the final time.  It was a close event – the winner clocked 21:27 but I was still 6th.  I think I was only 5 secs off the podium.  Right next target sub 21:30....

Okay, got my name wrong again but at least they got the right sex this time!!



  On the Thursday evening I decided on the spur of the moment to ride out to the Somerleyton club 10, my local course just a couple of miles from home.  This is billed as ‘East Anglia’s most sporting course’ and it is quite tricky.  I had a stab in the rain and wind a fortnight earlier on a ‘private trial’ and did 24:30.  I’d always wanted to get under 24 mins on this course and I reckoned I had it in me that night.
  I felt quite tired but managed 23:53 to get second place, the winner Stuart Pryce of road team GS Strada doing an impressive 22:36.  Again, very chuffed!



  Final challenge was the Stowmarket and District Open 10 on the A14 based B10/38 on Sunday morning.  I’ve always liked this course despite it having several long drags and a very complicated ‘spaghetti junction’ type turn going up and over the A14 quite steeply.  It’s one of those courses that seems much shorter than 10 miles and never seems like a horrendous ordeal.  I set my previous current PB on here in 2010 (22:26).
  A ridiculously early start at 07:52 saw me getting up at 5:30.  It was quite warm but with quite a stiff head / crosswind on the way out.  Again, the legs felt pretty stuffed but I knocked out 22:12 which I was initially slightly disappointed with but back at the race HQ everyone’s times were quite sluggish.  However, I’d comfortably gone faster than everyone who had finished ahead of me in the weds evening event, 30secs to nearly a minute in some cases, so was well pleased.  That ride on a quicker course on a better day probably puts me in sub 21:30 territory!  Not sure of the winning time yet as I left early but the quickest on the board at the time was a 21:40 something I think.

  Anyway, I’ve opted for a ‘down’ week this week.  Training has gone a bit top heavy which is never good so I’m going to just do steady 90 min base rides and no racing.  Besides, I didn’t want to be screaming fit just yet but wanted to save it for July & August.  The diet has also gone wobblies up this last couple of weeks and I’ve put a bit of lard back on, so I’ll concentrate on getting that back off too.

  Next assault on another PB is the ECCA 10 on sat afternoon on the very quick (on the right day) E2/10 near Newmarket.

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