Sunday Jun 1 |
 | Running 1:37:00 [3]19.0 mi (5:05 / mi) | |
| ahr:140 max:169 |
| Harie Holiday:
Bilson cooked a monster 40 person fry-up. FGM. Had an England (me & WHB) vs. Scotland (Rocky & Scotty Wallace) 4-way pool tournament. It was 2-2 after the one-on-ones, but the flag of St. George was flying high after the doubles, pretty close though, I think it came down to the black. Me and Rocky then took Scotty for an easy 1 hour cruise on paths, which turned into 97 mins with a lot of terrain. Good session though. Nice to be back in some real forests. The rest of the Haries had either hired mountain bikes or gone for a walk up Caringorm. The latter went up the still snow capped mountain in trainers, shorts & t-shirts, without water or food or a map. Classic. They came quite close to becoming an article in the metro. We then had an indoor BBQ, celebrated Svensson's birthday, said thanks and Thanks to the 07/08 committee, Goodluck to the 08/09 committee, and Goodbye to our graduates. A long night of partying followed. Including lots of alcohol, a ceilidh, a club round and boat race in the nearest bar before being thrown straight out, some big cheese, a freshers disco which turned into a Fourgy, streaking, the police, drunken football, swimming in a freezing river which was 50cm deep, another ceilidh (at about 6am), some early morning joggage and not very much sleep. Good times. |
Saturday May 31 |
| Cycling 5:00:00 [3]87.0 mi (3:27 / mi) | |
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| Harie Holiday:
I was going to go in a car and watch the Laggan 10km, but it was an amazingly sunny day so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to top up the tan. And my legs were feeling surprisingly fresh considering what I did yesterday. So cycling it was. Took the back road, through Loch Vaa, Rothiemurchas, Inshriach and Uath Lochan. It felt good to be home. The road to Newtonmore was closed for bridge repairs, however I'm a cyclist and rules don't apply, so straight through it was (plus there was the National Cycle Network parallel with the road). Watched the race, EUHH P&P cleaned up. Then off to Loch Morlich for a swim. I didn't swim. DC then challenged me to cycle up to the Caringorm Ski Center, so off I went. It's a steady uphill all the way from Coylumbridge but it really kicks in after the Glenmore Lodge turning for 5km. It starts steady, then kicks up to +15% for about 500m, which was enough to take it out of my legs, then the last few km's are steady again, in the saddle to the top, jersey fully unzipped and sweating like crazy. It actually felt like I was riding away solo on a mountain stage of le Tour. Awesome. Then it was the cruise back home, just taking it steady. Got back to Nethy Bridge and the lads were playing football, Youth vs. Experience. Experience won, even without my silky Le Tissier skills. I did an expert job stirring the chilli. Then normal service was resumed in the bar (which was in our accomodation).
Nethy Bridge - Laggan: 35.5m, 1:40, 21.3mph average on rolling roads, nice!
Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/gb/highland/8841985...
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| C • That's some impressive ridi... 1 |
Friday May 30 |
| Cycling 5:45:00 [4]88.5 mi (3:53 / mi) | |
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| Harie Holiday:
Got the train to Pitlochry, did a few miles on the flat to get the legs warmed up, got some supplies from Scotmid and then headed into the hills for a beasting. The plan; cycle from Pitclochry to Nethy Bridge, the long hilly way. The route was pretty simple, if in doubt keep left. Simple doesn't mean easy though. Straight out of Pitlochry was a long climb, with a 1km long 10% section. It was hear that I realised I probably didn't have the best gears for the job, 39/53 up front and a 11-25 at the back. Anyway, on we go. A few rolling hills on the way to the Spittal of Glenshee, then 5km drag followed by 2.5km of 10-15%. That was seriously bitchin' but totally worth it when I got to the top. Not for the view, because the cloud was in and it started raining, but just to know that I've done it. After a wee chat to DC on the phone it was a really long descent into Braemar, a quick resupply at the village store and then off to the next hilly section. This was the tough part, 3 big hills in quick succession. The first one wasn't too steep, a steady 5km climb in the seat the whole way. The next one was quite harsh, the first section was 2km long, getting up to over 15%, thinking this was the top I went quite hard, only to reach the "top" and to discover the actual top was another 3km at 10%. Then down the other side, a few km at the bottom of the glen and then to Cock Bridge (ha ha). This was the beginning of one of the toughest things I have ever done. The Lecht (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=325500&y=8... It's an absolute beast. It started at 20% for 1km. Anyone who does cycling will know that that is seriously hardcore. But the fact I only had 39/25 to get up it was what really made it hard. There was no way I was going to stop though. I was wearing a Flanders jersey with Eddie Mercx across the front, it would have been an insult to the cannibal to do so. I was already knackered at the bottom, and it got to the point where I was barely turning the pedals. I just had to look at the floor, think of Tommy Simpson and grind it out. At the top of the first section there is a few hundred meters of downhill, but then it kicks back up again for another 3km at 10-20%. I got up some of that in the saddle, thinking of Jan Ullirch and saying "Ich bin der Kaiser" to myself. This was the last big one (or so I thought), with a long descent down into Tomnitoul. Some truck went past me as was having my banana at the top, I let him have a bit of a headstart before dropping down like it was hot. No speedo, but I was spinning out on 53/11, so something in the range of +50mph. There was a short 2km climb out of Bridge of Avon, followed by a 20% descent into Bridge of Brown, including an unsigned hairpin bend, in the rain, on 21mm tires. I didn't quite hit the barrier, but it got to the point where I did actually unclip a foot just incase. This took all my momentum for going up the 20% switchbacks on the other side, never mind, I was going to go up them in the granny ring anyway. This slowly flattened out over a few km's, and then it was a nice gentle roll down to Nethy Bridge. Job done. Got there just as the first few cars were arriving. My bag arrived shortly after I did, which was nice. The rest of the Haries turned up, the music was turned on and the beer began pumping...
THE Route: http://www.mapmyride.com/route/gb/pitlochry/401983... |
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| C • great effort 1 |
Thursday May 29 |
| Cycling 1:00:00 [3]15.0 mi (3:59 / mi) | |
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| Switched the bars over on my bikes, taped up, and then went out for 3 laps of the seat to check it out. Nae bother, although should have taken the tape a bit closer to the stem. Never mind. |
Wednesday May 28 |
| Running 42:00 [4]10 km (4:12 / km) | |
| ahr:167 max:198 |
| It seemed like I aint been running much recently, so went out for a blast round the meadows. |
Tuesday May 27 |
| Static Cycling 1:00:00 [3] | |
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| Slept in and missed my aquatic date with the CK. Watied for Ruth's poster and my pedals to arrive. Decided to go for an easy spin to losten the legs. Also decided that the weather was far to inclement to do it outside, so I got out the old rollers, put my Lance Armstrong DVD on and set about my buisness. In retrospect, probably should have put a towel down or something, as there is still a quite destinct sweat patch in the hall.
Massive congratulations to Scotia, 4th yesterday in the European Sprint, top stuff. |
Monday May 26 |
| Strength & Conditioning 2:00:00 [2] | |
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| Strength and conditioning with the Gunshow (aka DC). The usual nautilus stuff, then up to the circuits gym for some core, stability and plyometrics. Not much to report, other than CK's sunburn on the top of his head. |