Spring time blues

It's done nothing but rain this week, which is probably a good thing because I've been aching since Sunday.

I've also experienced saddle soreness (or should it be rawness?) for the first time. I must remember to slap on a big dollop of Udderly Smooth chamois cream before I ride. After a ride the damage is already done!

Anyway, today (Thursday) is the first day I've done any proper riding since the weekend's mammoth mileage. This week I commuted back and forth to work by bike but felt so sluggish. Like my tyres literally had slug slime on them, sticking me to the Tarmac. It was such an effort just to get some speed up.

However, today I stopped being pathetic and took the afternoon off work to go out for a ride with Pete. We'd planned to do my usual time trial route up to the Severn Bridge at race pace but, as I didn't have much of a sprint left in my legs and we spent most of the time chatting.

It also started hammering down with rain so the two of us trundled back to Bristol feeling pretty cold and dejected. I rapidly descended into 'big girl's blouse' mode again.

Still, I clocked 36 miles for a wet, cold Thursday afternoon, which seems pretty commendable now I think of it, sat in my warm house, with the heating on, with a cup of coffee, wearing slippers and a hoody...

It wasn't exactly the best day of cycling but it's more miles clocked up and more time spent in the saddle. Even my food wasn't exciting today (a bowl of Weetabix, Alpen and Frosties for breakfast and two ham and cheese sandwiches, two bananas and a cereal bar for lunch).

If my cycling clothes ever dry I'll be riding to Salisbury this Saturday and some other far flung destination on Sunday. Suggestions on a postcard please...

Candle burnt at both ends

A friend of mine has all but given up drinking in preparation for the Paris Marathon. I'm begining to think it's a good idea.

I went out on Friday and had too many drinks. Not an excessive amount but probably enough to classify me as a 'binge drinker', and definitely enough to dampen my enthusiasm for Saturday's cycling.

Beers and a late night, on top of a week of exercise and long hours in work left me feeling mentally exhausted on Saturday morning.

I only had myself to blame and I would have felt even more rotten if a hangover got in the way of a bike ride. So I fueled up with cereal, porrige and coffee and dragged my sleepy head out into the dank January air. Ten miles in and I began to feel a bit more like myself. I rode to Clevedon, back to Portishead, through Avonmouth to the old Severn Bridge, before stopping for some pics and making a slow ride back to Bristol. 48 miles today and another tick on the training calender - although it's a rather shaky-handed tick.

Elsewhere this week: I've been upgrading the second-hand Bob Jackson road bike I bought last weekend. A new stem and new pedals make it easier to ride and it's almost a perfect commuting bike. Do I singlespeed it? I haven't decided yet.

It's been a busy week of running and riding in the gym. Next week: must get more sleep!