The start of training

January - the first two weeks...
I woke up on New years day at my friend's house feeling more than a little worse for wear but determined to get out on the bike. We managed 10 miles before I felt rather unwell.

I'd fallen a long way from riding 100 miles in October. I'd pretty much stopped riding long distances. 10 miles at the gym and the 3 mile commute to work was about all I'd managed during November and December. Boy it showed that day. A colossal hangover and some Christmas excess got my training off to a bad start.

It was freezing that day. Ice on the roads made cycling a little tricky. The temperature made knowing what to wear a little tricky. I went for a lot of layers and fleecy clothing. Overshoes, thick socks, leggings, shorts, four tops, a neck buff, ear warmers and two pairs of gloves - and I pretty much kept those layers on for most of January.

It snowed heavily in the first couple of weeks of January. I braved the cycle to work on my mountain bike and I managed one ride 30 mile ride on my road bike but otherwise I hit the gym. I did 10 or 15 miles several times a week and I also ran several times a week too (call me a glutton for punishment but I'm running a half marathon in March).

What I did do during this time was plan. I made a Gantt chart, a route plan, mapped each day out... and then made very anal lists of the hilly bits of and the roads to take.