New Years Resolutions
As midnight struck and 2016 dawned, people began asking about New Years resolutions. A couple of so called "friends" had been trying to persuade me to do a 70.3 half ironman. I had been on the verge of signing up. But then quite frankly I'm happy where I am. I can still have challenges without killing myself and becoming a stranger to my family. Running any distances over 10km seems like a recipe for injury to me, so I'm sticking to Sprint distances. 2 booked.
So what are my challenges for 2016 ?
1. To improve my cycling - cornering, and riding in a group, and speed.
2. Run a 10k a week at least under 1 hour
3. Swim harder.
4. Give up Super Noodles
5. World peace and help orphaned children
6. Set up a donkey sanctuary
Well 5 and 6 and can wait until I've done 1 to 4.
1. Cycling Skills - Revolutions
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| My lovely cousin Holly from Spring Cycle Coaching |
I have had some basic cycling tuition in the past, big cog little cog seems a million years ago and by some very patient lovely people. But honestly, that whole group riding thing was still a bit of an enigma. See previous chapters. See, I never really seem to stay in a group, I'm always in the middle or at the back. And well, if I'm going to do more cycling I probably should learn the etiquette required. For fear of forever being dropped and left "along the reed road with the German touring group". I tried to rectify that today by attending a Road Racing Womens Only course run by Kerry from Revolution Cycling and my lovely cousin Holly from Spring Cycle Coaching.
It all seemed good. Until I started re-looking at the title of the course beforehand "Road Racing" - yes the clues are in the title. Never really wanted to race people - just being able to keep up seems ambition enough to me. So I began to feel slightly nervous before the course. Very sleepless night similar to when you have to get up early for a flight, waking every hour. Dreams of getting to the airport and realising you're just in your pants or just not being able to shut the suitcase. I couldn't work out whether my sleepless worrying about forgetting pedals and shoes was apprehension or just the sheer volume of cheese I'd consumed the night before. Anyway.....
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| Pheasants all part of cycle training. |
So we all turned up off of the Norf-Circular on a very windy Sunday. The other girls - for they were mostly just girls - all had their Cycling Club Jerseys on - bit intimidating. I was team Castelli. Bit of DHB, Rapha underneath and Giro. So an amateur basically. We set off down to the track. The first obstacle thrown in our path was a pheasant. I know my cycling hand signals and commands, Car Back, Car Up. Wasn't sure what the hand signal was for "Get the fuck out of the way there's a half alive pheasant flailing around in the path". If anyone knows it can they let me know? Wow this was just the start, what else were they going to literally "throw at us", I've dodged goats in Mallorca, tourists in Paris and Deer in Richmond Park, a mere pheasant wasn't going to deter me. I'd like to say no pheasants were harmed in the process but unfortunately I think it was. RIP What the hell was it doing up there anyway? I digress.
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| YEP that really is me ! |
Catherine Jevans Pro-Cyclist
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| Lady Gaga ? |
My next trip is with Strongher to the Cataluna Mountains. Again the clue is in the title - Mountains. It is merely February so not much opportunity to get out on the bike, lots of eating the cake but not much of the cycling. Which is a tad worrying. I'm not really bike fit. I tried to rectify this with an 80k Surrey Hills jaunt. Apologies to the Kingston Wheelers who were doing a time trial that day, sorry if we got in your way. If you think MAMILs look funny. Get a MAMIL in a time trial cycling outfit and they look like they've just landed in their space ship or are taking part in a Lady Gaga video. So there we were minding our own business with the unnerving sound of time trialists whirring up behind us. And oh look there's the event photographer. I think he must have seen my photo from the week before and mistaken me for a #pro. "Oh No" I shouted "I'm not in the event!" easy mistake to make obviously, given how professional I'm looking these days. "I know that" he chuckled (it's not that funny) "I just love your pink wheels". So somewhere on some website they'll be lots of professional looking time trialists and then a random woman with pink wheels. I wonder what time I clocked. No No No ....I'm not racing, I'm not about the speed. I'm all about the cake and the training.
Next stop Gironne the Cataluna Mountains.
2. Running - Revelations
My last run of 2015 was on New Years Eve very hilly, wet and hungover near Tintern Abbey. Not ideal really. So 2016 could only get better. My first run of 2016 was on the 9th January 10.6km. Amazing how many people were out running, jogging, shuffling in their shiny new running gear. Never has the riverside path been so packed with runners. I watched some of them and wondered how many of them would put their trainers back in the box and shove them under the bed to collect dust for the rest of the year. Trainers are like dogs they're not just for Christmas you know. By February there's a lot more room on the tow path.
I use MapMyRide sometimes. Its a good app. It alerts you when friends are running with a sharp whistle. Guess it shames you into doing something as it seems that everyone else is at it. My friend Carlos lives in New York, he's training for the marathon. So he's running a lot. Unfortunately there is a time difference with New York, so when Carlos goes for a run it's 2am in the morning in the UK. Peep Peep. Wide Awake. What the hell was that ? Oh look Carlos is going for a run. Marvellous. I've now turned the alerts off. Sometimes Carlos runs really really fast. Surprisingly fast. Amazingly fast. I made a comment. His reply "Ah yes I accidentally left the app running whilst I was taking the Metro". That would explain that then. I thought he had suddenly been taking steroids.
I'm happily running 10k each run a week now. But don't expect me to increase that distance any time soon. #poppingcalf.
3. Swim Harder - Resolutions
I'm sure men don't have this problem. But for women we need to prepare in advance before we go swimming to avoid embarrassment. I'm talking lady garden maintenance. I swim at Hampton Open Air Pool. It's a short dash from the changing room to the shallow end. Usually at high speed because being an outdoor pool it's very cold when merely dressed in your swimmers in the depths of winter. So I had been putting off my swim due to inadequate lady garden maintenance. But I reasoned if I dashed even faster from the changing room to the pool no-one would notice my poor maintenance. So I duly set off to the pool.
Imagine my horror when a note taped on the door read "Today there is filming in progress". Great, the one day I'm poorly maintained that's typical. But it got worse. I was ready for the dash, but as I emerged from the changing room into the cold air, my usual route to the shallow end was blocked. There were several work men beside the pool re-grouting the tiles (not a euphemism). In my state of panic, float now positioned firmly in front of my groin area, I couldn't work out how to get into the pool. Sensing my panic a workman shouted "You need to get in up there love". Marvellous I now had to walk the length of the pool, 36metres to be precise, to the deep end. Now everyone WAS looking at me. Luckily no camera's though. Forgetting it was the deep end, and just really wanting to get submerged quickly, I got in......and sank straight to the bottom. I emerged back up to the surface coughing and spluttering. Ah yes it's the deep end, it's deep. I wasn't drawing attention to myself at all was I ?!!!! They had also sectioned off the pool with rope to stop the grouting getting wet. A fact I kept forgetting. So at the end of each length, I practically garrotted myself on the rope. Causing me to abruptly stop swimming and surface spluttering. I need to get out and go home, via the chemist for some Immac.
My first swim of 2016 was on the 7th January I was better prepared in certain departments I wouldn't' get caught out like that again. I also had my new Swimovate swim watch. I'd wanted the watch as I had no idea how efficient or fast I was whilst swimming. I emerged from the changing room fully maintained and proud. It was cold. I got into the pool. There's no hanging about in an outdoor pool. I looked at my watch and pushed a button. I hadn't really managed to read the instruction manual fully as I'd lost my reading glasses and it was quite small print. I began my swim. Fully recording every efficient stroke and lap. After 70 lengths, I looked at the watch. Yep it still read 7th January and the time. Well that's good it tells the time then. Need to go home and read the instruction manual. This was going to be like my bloody Garmin.
For my next swim I was fully instructed and maintained. Watch was turned on and all laps recorded. It then gave me all sorts of data which meant absolutely bloody nothing. I would need to refer to the bloody instruction manual again. But knowing I was recording my swim, I had made lots more effort. Or so I thought. When I referred to my manual, it told me my efficiency was average. Really ? bit disappointing. Well my swim watch is very lovely, purple and it tells the time perfectly. Oh and it's waterproof. Need to work on my efficiency.
4. Giving up Super Noodles
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| Cucumber sandwiches who knew they were so lovely ? |
5 and 6 - World Donkeys and peaceful Orphans
Well I'm busy aren't I ? This isn't Miss World you know. I am off to Spain so I may see some donkeys in the mountains or El Burro as they say in Espania. I'll let you know. Peace ? Well I have vowed to Be Kind this year. To myself and others. And orphans ? perhaps I'll do something for Barnardo's this year ?
Good. Resolutions resolved, revolved and revealed.
That's your lot. Until the next time.
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