Cat and Dog!

Humm... I've been dog sitting my parent's dog for the last 24hours... Needless to say the cat has not been impressed! The dog, "Tootes" is a x colley and lab and really cute and fairly obedient. And scared of cats it seems! So poor Muffin has been doing the cat "creep" trying to blend into the shadows as he passes her, despite the fact she'd run up the walls if he actually got close. Poor Mogey, like he hasn't had other things to stress him out the last couple of weeks. Still she's going to be picked up later today so the cat will be a happy boy again with the house to himself!

I'm thinking of changing my plans for the weekend. I was intending to do a 10k race tomorrow but given I've not done my LSR yet for the week I may have to ditch the race for 1.5hr slow run.... hummm.... Didn't get the LSR run as planned on Thursday (morning or evening) due to the fact I came down with a bit of an upset tum. Thought initially that this down to a mild bout of food poisoning (I am that good a cook ...lol)... but actually have decided it was just a bit of a bug given how washed out I was yesterday. So I'm not going to bike, swim or run today either but still want to get my LSR in for the week. Think if I did the 10k it would probably be more stressful on the body (as there's no way I'd not race the race!) then running slower for longer.

What do you think? I've got 2 weeks till the half mary and at this stage I think getting the hours on the legs and in the shoes is more important then racing.

It's nearly the end of my random month off of any sort of routine training and poor diet... and the stars are saying it's time to get back into the swing of things... here's an extract from my horoscope today:
"Still, with physical Mars now in your 6th House of Health, it's also a smart idea to improve your diet and exercise regimen at this time."

LOL !!!

So October, obviously I've got the half Mary - and given how much I'm beginning to love running again I'm really looking forward to it, but the big plan for October and November is to get back into a routine of swim, bike, run leading up to the start of the new ATP in December..... HIM here I come :o) I'll commit by October/ November plan to cyber space in the next week!

OK random blog over - time to shower and change and go watch some hockey! :o)

Keep on running!

Ahh so much to write but so little time... and where to start..... ok ok I know you'll want to know how the cat is..... evidently he is feeling better....When I got up this morning this is what I found in the hallway. Those "things" you can hardly make out in the picture are what was left of the mouse when I got up this morning!!! YUK!

What else....oh yes that little duathlon thing I did on Saturday.... talk about "emotional" in places! 5.5k x-country run, two laps of 6k on the mtb and then another 2k! This was a little bit more difficult then I had anticipated but was ouddles of fun dispite this!! Managed to convince a mtb buddy of mine to do the thing too.... so my personal objective was to try and not get too whipped on the bike section by her!!! The whole thing turned out quite good in the end as we actually finished at the same time!... and I did get truly whipped by both the bike course and my buddy on it... lucky for me I got a good enough head start on the first run and caught up on the second! Still it was an unexpected race and a great laugh... Oh and there's that little thing of coming joint third in my age group... not that there were loads of us in the age group but still 3rd is 3rd :oD. So I celebrated by trying to drown myself in Guinness whilst watching the rugby on Saturday afternoon... at least we won that game!

Needless to say (after my Guinness drowning attempt) I rested up on Sunday ;o)

I have got back on the proverbial treadmill a bit this week and been for a couple of runs which have also, in the first instance particularly, been entertaining. So let me paint you the scene.

Monday morning I was still in bed listening to the wind howl outside and thought about getting up for a run wondering if it was raining with that wind..... then the cat arrived, did a four paw landing on the white duvet to announce that it was indeed raining - a lot..... soggy moggy! EUH! So I got up donned some running tights, a t, a shower proof jacket and a cap and off I went. You know there are times I don't mind running in the rain, in fact I do quite enjoy it - is that masochistic? Anyhow I was in one of those moods - happy to be alive! As soon as I stepped out I realised it must have really come down a bit earlier as the drains were back-flowing and there were an awful lot of puddles in the road. So off I continued on my merry way when the inevitable happened. Yep. A car got me. Not hit me, but got me with a puddle. A head to toe soaking!! It was like running through a wall of water! Now, given the obviously good mood I was in I didn't let it faze me and did actually find it quite amusing (after I had muttered a 4 letter expletive)!!! Lucky my shower proof jacket was pretty good so it was just my legs, heads, hands and feet that were truly soaked, my trainers have not yet dried out! Still I carried on in my happy way and completed a 35min, easy jog. Very good start to the week! :o) But I bet you don't realise (at least that driver didn't), that you can get fined ouddles of pounds and points on your license for soaking a pedestrian??!!!

Now, as we're at quarter end at work things have been a tad busy, so I headed out for my second run of the week this morning, nothing doing on Tuesday. Fortunately it was dry if a little on the "OMG it must be winter approaching" cold side when I headed out. Another slow and easy jog, this time for 45mins.

And what awaits around the corner in this month of no focus, low fitness maintenance and beer??!... Humm yes I thought what better way to end the month then doing a 10k race! So that awaits for Sunday, and at least I'll post a PB as I've never done one before :o) Oh and more running as gotta get a longer one in to boost me on to that way to the small thing of a half mary in a few weeks. Yipppeee-deeeeee-doooooo! :o)

A quick blog

Cat Update:
Muffin the moggy has pretty much stopped sulking, although the whole tooth paste thing is interesting. You see I've got to get it in his back teeth and although he likes the taste he doesn't really like a finger full of it shoved in the side of the mouth. Still we haven't had a real falling out over it yet, so far he's pawed my hand away rather then clawed it - so we'll see how this continues!! Other then that the tooth extraction site looks good and he's now on his new "dental" biscuits - yum yum!

Run update:
This week hasn't gone too bad, already blogged my Tuesday run. Then made it out for long-slow-run Thursday morning. An hour and 12 mins, which is 15mins up on last long run, although at v easy 9.2kmph (avg). All done with avg hr 148 which is just at the top of my easy zone - so all good with that :o)

Swim update:
Err well made it to the pool yesterday morning for the first swim since Newbury tri at the very beginning of September..... needless to say it has hard!! Still I did 1.9k in 50mins as a mixture of drills, sprints and cruises! Had better make sure I keep going or I'm really going to start losing some form!!!! So once to twice per week even if it's a recovery swim should be built in to my half-mary schedule!

Bike Update:
Have not done any of this since the epic ride last Sunday.... but have bike plans for the weekend so no bother there really

Today:
Ahhh yes - just this little thing of an off road sprint duathlon that I've entered at the very last minute!! So that should get me a tempo run in (well 2 actually) and a bit of mtb fun! It's "only" a sprint so 5k - 12k - 2k... should be entertaining at least ;o)

Right - quick blog over, gotta get my gear sorted and get down to the race!

Poor cat!

My cat is in a right old grump with me :o(

Poor Muffin (the cat for the uneducated) has been a bit off his biscuits of late so I took him to the v*t last Friday who confirmed a case of gingivitis and therefore another trip for a bit of a dental polish and stuff.

Hummm, so Monday morning I had a fight getting him into the basket again. Suffice to say he was most unimpressed about being in that thing again and another visit to the v*t...... poor poor Muffin!

I left him, worried like a worried parent and went to work. Got a comedy call from the vets; comedy that it transpired Muffin had fought his corner some what and put up a bit of a fight when they tried to get some bloods pre-op. The v*t said he had some sort of gum disease (the cat not the v*t), which I felt awful about but said that the teeth so far were fine!.... Until an hour later when he phoned me back to say he had had to take one out!! :o(

So I went to pick the cat up and got a full briefing from the vet... apparently I shouldn't feel bad or guilty as this is one of those diseases older cats just get. Hummm... Still I got him in the basket and headed home.

I've spent the last couple of days trying to make things up - tuna, special cat food, cat milk and the like - he's not allowed any biscuits just yet, not that I think he minds.

Now the thing with all of this is as part of his treatment is to brush his teeth - totally unlikely don't you think? So the vet dispatched me with some cat tooth paste...... and this morning Karen + Muffin + paste = MESS.... now he didn't attack me, but he didn't really want my finger full of paste in his mouth either (well would you when it's poultry flavoured?)..... so I kind of got some paste in but I admit the majority ended up around his mouth, on his whiskers, on his chin, down his paws - I even think I got some in his ears..... is it any wonder he gave me some evil stares??!! ... Still he did strangely seem to like the taste of it and as I got some on his teeth I think I'll consider this a success!!! :o) ... although he still isn't really talking to me... and he definitely won't be come Thursday when I have to take him back to the v*t!!!

Oh I guess I'd better blog my training ummm... well as I am training for a half Mary I did manage to get out yesterday for a nice steady 7k in about 41mins.... really nice lunch-time run with a colleague around the woods and lake near work. Just what I needed after that monster bike ride on Sunday, my legs actually felt better after - phew!

Another run tomorrow I think - over the hour this time but at very easy pace (less then 10kph)

Right it's time for "heroes" on TV and as I think I'm beginning to understand what's going on I think I'm going to watch it! Tally-hoooooooooooh!

How did that happen?

I'll keep it brief as I'm still in shock.....

Got an invite from Leanne for a 60k ride in the hills around Henley-upon-Thames with an offer of a roast dinner after who was I to decline such hospitality, despite the fact I've never gone 60k before and the last "long" ride I'd done was London Oly at the beginning of August.

So off we set yesterday (Sunday) afternoon - Dan (much acclaimed super hero from previous blogs) leading the way..... it was when we were at 45k and the bottom of another monster hill that he said "well ladies - I think we're about half way"..... and then we climbed (again!)... with absolutely no getting out of the saddle allowed!

and as I'm playing with my Garmin - here's the route and the gradient.....

We climbed over 1.1km .... and we didn't get out of the saddle once!

At least the downhills were enjoyable - if a little scary, trusty Garmin says max speed was 60kph... which is about 40mph... and yes I was on the brakes big time and hoping I was going to stay seated!

Average HR was 122 so comfortably Zone 2 which is exactly what I need for half-ironman. So apt "punishment" for not being able/ ready for the half-mary I should have been doing ;o)

In summary - I'm in a state of shock that I've done 85k - wasn't planning that for some time. Managed 4.5hours in the saddle - longest ever by 2.5hours ... nothing like racking it all up slowly (not!).... so all I need to do is another 5k, oh that after 2k of swimming and before 21k running... but hey there's loads of time to go right?!

What of the rest of last week? Well no swimming, 1 session of MTB riding (1.5hrs), 2 runs (30mins and 60mins) and 1 game of hockey umpiring. Not a bad, if completely unstructured, week! :o)

Coincidence or fate?!

So do you believe it fate or just coincidences which can happen?

Here's what happened on Thursday.....

Was traveling up to Durham (the far north of England for those who don't know), for the day for a work meeting so got up nice and early, leaving home at 6am for taxi ride to the mainline station. Got up to London and schlepped across to Kings Cross getting there 0730, 30mins before my train was due to depart at 8am..... Decided to see if I could wing it and get into the first class lounge... well I had first class tickets, albeit cheapo fares so unlikely to be let in - but you if you don't ask you don't get right?!

So the conversation ensued with the lovely old security man;
"Can I come in, I have first class tickets"
"Can I see them"
"Of course - here you go"
"I'm very sorry young lady" (luv 'im as my friend from Devon would say - how very sweet calling me young) "but you can't use these tickets for the lounge"
"Oh"
"I'm really sorry it's just the people who pay a full first class fare get a bit sensitive, but there is another lounge you can use"
"Do they have a toilet in, or do I have to use the public conveniences?"
"Well really you should use the public ones, but if you promise to be quick" " you can use the ones here"

Humm.. so I did blag my way in but only to use the facilities!! Still saved me a whole 20p and they were far cleaner ;o)... and I am getting to this coincidence thing I promise.

So off I trotted (not literally I hasten to add) and I found a ladies purse in the ablutions. Not in the bowl or anything yuk like that I hasten to add, but on the side by the sink. Hummmm so being the upstanding citizen that I am (thanks Mum and Dad) I wanted to make sure I did the correct thing by whomever had left it. So I first looked in to see if there was any photo id... didn't rummage or anything but immediately saw it was pretty full, cash, credit cards etc but no immediate ID. So hastily closed it (feeling guilty for having even looked in it!) and proceeded to leave. There was one lady in the lounge so I asked her if it was her purse - no. So went back out and handed into the the nice gentleman doing security who'd let me in.

... and that's where you'd normally expect this story to end...

So after that, met up with my work colleague, found which platform our train was going from and boarded. Coach L, seat 33.......... So on we got and sat in our reserved seats; a simple two seater with the seats opposite, perfect! Until we realised we were sitting in the seat numbers for our return journey - should have been in Coach L, 16.... so off we went, found the new seats and found them to be two next to each other opposite two guys - not so good for business conflab. Hummm. So my work colleague looked to see if there were another 2 seats, not reserved for travel, free in the first class coaches.... Yep, back behind us in Coach M. So we made camp there and settled down for the 3.5hr journey.

About 30mins into the journey a lady sitting on the 4 seater to my left started looking for something, the lady next to her helping her out. They searched the table, under the table, got passengers to move and searched under their feet. I don't know what got me to say anything, so I asked the helper what they were looking for. Yep - you guess it a purse. So I asked the little old lady who had lost the purse if it was brown, so big, with a golden clasp... and you never guess what it was - and this was the purse I had found back at the station!

So what a bizarre coincidence. There are tens of trains leaving Kings Cross between 7:30 and 8:00am, there must have been about 10 carriages on our train and I shouldn't have even been in the carriage I was in, let alone sitting next to this lady! Was this fate or just a coincidence? Bizarre either way! Suffice to say the lady was very pleased when the guard confirmed it was her purse and it was waiting for her back at the station so she could pick it up on her way home that evening! How things work out :o)

What else I hear you cry - what of your training....

....Hummm... maybe more on that later - suffice to say I've decided to have a weekend off next weekend and stay at home and not do the half Mary - have a revised schedule for the October one which I feel more comfortable doing. I think if I were to attempt the one next Sunday I'd be able to finish, but would risk injury (as I'm stubborn once I start there's no way I wouldn't complete it), and I'm simply not up to 2.5hrs run or run/ walk.

OK - that's it for now - there's some people state side racing today which I'd just like to say - KEEP GOING! As I think you're all still racing as I'm blogging and it's nearly time for my bed!

More tomorrow/ Tuesday :O)

OH YES - how could I forget ... WELL DONE Angel..leeky for your first Oly distance today! Paulo and I had a blast shouting "encouragement" and the moment when we surprised you on the run by jumping out of the bushes is still making me chuckle!! Well done!

PS: Just seen Lisa was a finisher in her half-mary - WOOHOO! Well done Lisa! YOU ROCK!! (that is how you Americans say it isn't it?!) :o) and achieving you "A" aim on the way. Really well done!

Now watching out for Tri-Shannon who's on her Ironman dream race today at Wisconsin!

Newbury Race Report

I can hear you all shouting: "Keep it brief! Keep it brief!"

Yes, yes - alright already ;o)

Pre-race:
Woke up Sunday morning strangely and unexpectedly really nervous! Texted Leanne (training bud) who was doing the race but starting earlier then me... it was ok I wasn't alone - she was nervous too... she questioned why do we do this to ourselves??!! A good question at 7am on a sunday morning!! Luckily the weather forecast was good, a bright morning but not too hot and not too windy. Excellent!

Anyhow, had some muesli, banana, water and packed my kit bag. Strange not putting the wetsuit in it! Kept on thinking it was too light!

Finally dragged my arse into my car about 8am (slightly later then I anticipated!) and set off for the short 30min journey to Newbury. Thankfully I have reccied out the location and bike route the day before - the map which was in the application form was not terribly helpful!! Still having been there the day before I got there straight off! Phew! Parked up, unloaded and had a brief hug, natter and good luck to Leanne who was 20mins away from starting and wanting to join the swim queue. I did the whole registration thing, even got marked up (first time this season!) and went to transition. Now this is the only real complaint I have about the whole event. Transition was too small (not enough width between bike racks) and the racks themselves were too low. My bike didn't slide underneath, both my handle bars and seat were slightly too high! So the only way to go in and out was to go in at an angle - not ideal - but not as bad as the guy racking two to my right who was so tall that his bike, although it went under, couldn't hang off anything as both his bars and seat were higher then the rack height!! DOH! I think he had to go to the end of the rack and lean his bike! Still I unpacked my kit, grabbed my camera and headed to the swim to get some piccies of Leanne... well that's what I intended until I realised my camera batteries were flat!!

Still I yelled some encouragement and after she exited the swim got changed into my trisuit, got more nervous and finally headed to the swim queue myself!

The Swim:
So an old (old) outdoor swimming pool 75 yards in length, one lap one side of the rope before passing under and another lap the other. Two people were starting every 30s, which led to a slightly choppy event! As usual I got chatting to people in the queue and found my starting partner. We'd both put in an ambitious 6min swim time, he reckoned he could do this if the adrenaline kicked in, so I told him I'd take a tow!! A bit cheeky I know! I wasn't sure how I was going to swim, I generally always hate my 400m warm-up when I do a swim session and I wasn't sure what I'd think of the 75yd pool.

Well we got in and got our 10s warning and we were off! We swam together for about the first 5 strokes, then I found myself edging ahead and then within 20 odd strokes I was ahead and feeling good. Loved the length of the pool - allowed me to get into a really good rhythm and I was at the end of the first length before I knew it. As I turned I saw ahead of me a girl who had started in the set before me (she had missed her start time so would have been slower), and midway down the length I caught her and sailed right on past. Finished the second length and duck dived under the rope. At this point I was still feeling pretty good but worried that I was about to blow up! Still got flapping down the next length back into a nice rhythm and before I knew it I was on the final turn for home. Another good lap and I was jubilant to see a water exit time of 06:05 - YIPPEEE! The split is more like 06:24 I think but that includes time out of pool and run toward transition where the timing mat was.

Very happy with the swim! To put this into context when I did a 300m time trial (training test) back in April my average for 300m was 06:54! So I've cut my time since April by nearly 50s - oh sweet joy!

T1:
To be honest this could have gone smoother, but what with the narrow lanes between racks and rack height problem I guess I'll just have to accept it. To hinder further there were guys either side of my bike getting themselves through T1 and I missed my spot (a first!). At least the transition length was really short! Not sure of my split but it'll be disappointing I think, although having said that I did get in and out whilst those two guys either side of me were phaffing about! So I'll have to wait for the times. Actually they may be posted by now so let me check.... Oh ok so it was better then I thought: 01:15!! I'll take that! Oh and swim split update 0:06:18 :o)

Bike:
Well I didn't feel great on the bike. It started off straight out of transition and into a small but cheeky climb. How rude is that! Luckily I was already in my small ring at the front and before long I was in my smallest gear and out of the saddle! The course itself is undulating through some lovely countryside (if you get the chance to to take a quick look). Managed to avoid the stones on the roads and the odd pot hole so no flat drama's of the previous day! I don't think I did too well on the uphills, this has always been a weakness and something to work on during the winter. However I do think I got all the gear changing about right, got out of the saddle and powered up when I needed to and stayed in the saddle for the longer inclines. I must confess the bit I did enjoy was the final third which was mainly down hill and a great opportunity to get down on my aerobars and peddle like a lunatic! Brilliant fun! Only had two minor delays at roundabouts when cars decided to turn which I had to give way to - how inconsiderate! ;o) In summary I found the bike harder then usual but that would be down to the inclines!
Bike split, 22k: 0:46:34

T2:
F-A-S-T... although did leave my rack for 2 steps before I realised I hadn't grabbed my epipen from my bike.. went the 2 paces back and legged it!! T2 split: 0:00:56! Yep 56seconds... wheeez!

Run:
Started off feeling pretty darn good! Then I worked out this feeling of euphoria was probably down to my caffeine gel I had had about 15mins before on the bike!!! Passed a lady suffering from cramp and had my sights set on this guy who had come past me during one of the bike climbs - I could see him there in the distance and he looked like he was going slower then me - it's good to have a target! Caught him before the half way mark! Then the fast boys started coming past me. That was actually quite good really because it spurred me on a bit. The first part third of the run was a little country path, middle section was running alongisde the A34 - a really busy dual carriageway (not terribly inspiring!) and the final section down alongside the Kennet Canal, which was lovely! It was on the turn off the roadside onto the canal that I asked the marshall if we were half way - to which he said there was only 1.5k left. It was then that I realised that, unless I had supersonic jets in my trainers that the run was going to be well short of the 5k advertised. Still I wasn't really complaining. This was the first point during the race that I considered my end time - decided that sub 1hr 20 was doable, said hello to some people in a barge waiting at a lock and headed for home! 3mins later I got the worse stitch ever! Similar to Friday night but a lot worse! Grrrr! Determined not to stop I just tried blowing it out.... struggled for sometime until I saw a bridge up ahead and the sports centre just beyond! Yippee the end was in sight! The whole up and over a foot bridge right at the end was a bit rude though! Got a big yell from Leanne as I came down from the bridge and off I went for a lap of the sports field and the finish!
Run, not 5k but more like 4.2k: 0:23:14

Total Time: 01:18:20
:oD
15/44 in Female Open

Lots of smiles all around!

Leanne had an aim of doing the race sub 1hr 30 in 2008.. .well she was a year ahead of schedule and got in 1:28:45. The club did well too - with one of the guys winning the race in something silly like 57mins!!!

Will write some more about my tri thoughts in a later blog.... as for post race recovery Monday: No rest for the wicked, did a gym session last night: 20mins x-trainer for 4k and 30mins run/walk for 4.6k - no problems with the calf muscle either! Intended to go swimming yesterday morning or this morning but alas the duvet caught me both days and didn't let me get out of bed ;o)

FUN! FUN! FUN!

Ah Sunday and another TRI day... happy :o)

I'm sitting here post tri with a nice plate of walnut bread, a slab of cheese and some lovely juicy olives.. all get a capital YUM and before you start I know this is not the ideal post-tri food... but that was hours ago and I did rehydrate, eat bananas and have a protein bar after the race. I'm now obviously trying to put back in the 1000 calories I used up in the race.. and then perhaps some more too :o)

I'm also sitting here feeling simply excited - I don't know why - because that was the last Tri of the season? Because I really enjoyed it? Because this is the end of my first season in this new sport - and found it awesome in all sorts of ways... or maybe it's more to do with the caffeine I've had today?? One gel during the race, 2 cups of lovely tea at my Aunt's house after, then this afternoon another cup of tea at my Nan's.... humm.. ok I'll accept it - I've got a caffeine high haven't I?!?

Before I give my brief race report I'd just like to say that my Nan is just the best. It's not often I see my Nan, not because she lives far away but just because ...well do I have a suitable excuse??.. even when we do all see Nan it's more often then not due to a family get together.. and there are hundreds of us... ok slight exaggeration... but there are at least 10s of us...Too many for me to remember all by rellies names at times!!! The times I've spent with my Nan on my own are few and far between - so this afternoon's cuppa with her on the way home was a very special hour. My Nan may well be into her eighties - but she's not old. She talks about the "old" people in the place she lives! She has so much experience of life, she's so honest and true with her words. I wish I could go back in time and watch my Nan during her life. Simply put I love her immensely and she really is the best as I said at the start :o)

Back to the race.....

OK I will do a BRIEF race report tomorrow.. but as you can probably gather I did have ouddles of fun (which was the aim). I finished (hurrah), and I finished in 1:18:25 or something like (double hurrah). The distances were advertised as 300m swim (about right, it was a 75yd pool which you had to zig-zag up and down), 22k bike (undulating but terrific countryside, and down hill for about the last 1/3.. weeeeeeeeeeee), 5k run (no way was this a 5k, well short... in fact I think I'm going to gmap it... wait one.... yep 4.2k... but it was a really nice run by the canal so I won't complain!)... official timings are out tomorrow so I'll do my race report then.. and yes it will be brief.... honest ;o)

As for the rest of my training since my last blog... humm well I did manage a slow and arduous run on Friday evening. In fact the run started bad. You know when you just start and 2 mins later you think "I knew I should have gone to the loo before I left"..... and then your tummy feels like well... like every thing's going the wrong way... I then got a nasty stitch 8mins into it.... so made it a run-walk session instead of just a run!!! Still I then went off out for a curry so that sorted the tum out ;o)

Saturday I woke up with a bit of a sore calf so I went up to hockey trials with Biancha in the boot, no intention to play or umpire but go out for a poodle on the bike. That was until 7k into the ride I had a catastrophic flatty! Never had a sudden puncture before and it scared the living bejesus out of me. I braked and stopped so suddenly I almost forgot to unclip and nearly did that horizontal rider-attached-to-bike-in-the-gutter thing!!! Luckily I just managed to get out in time - phew. Then set about the task of changing a rear flatty (first time), by the side of the road (first time) and use a gas cannister to re-inflate (first time). I didn't bother timing myself ;o) I did manage to do it without calling for help, although I did blaspheme quite a bit so I don't think I would have got much help from on high if I had called for that sort of help!... Anyhow, all I injured was my right pinkie (although did nearly freeze my fingers off when I reinflated - wasn't quite expecting the gas to come out like that!), so that was about it. This little incident though did stall me from my little bimble out and not wanting to venture far without any further spare I decided to have a wander around some country lanes before heading back to the club. So ended up doing about 22k I think in about an hour. A bit different from today! At least I got the puncture out of the way yesterday :o) Then watched our ladies first team win a friendly hockey game - good start to the season! I then reccied the bike route, came home and had a good friend come over for pizza and gossip... so a good day all in all despite the flatty - I put that one down to experience :o)

Right I'm out of cheese, bread and olives.. so I'd best be off as it must be time for my chocolate brownies and ice-cream.... back to healthy eating tomorrow :o) ... along with that race report! :o)

Oh and just a quick P.S. for Jules - Hope the half-mary went well and the Scottish weather was nice for you (no horizontal rain etc!!)