I'm still here.. just..

I've been a little slack with the blog recently... been a little busy lately revising for exams, taking the exams then starting the next lot of lectures... then of course training.. alot.

Training has been very much along the same lines for the past week or so... concentrating heavily on zone 2, well trying my hardest too anyway ( Honest Mark i am really really trying now).
There has been some new additions to the training routing, namely hill efforts and spin ups. Opposite ends of the cadence spectrum but both having there respective benefits.

I have found myself a nice hill, not really as long as i would like but its slim pickings in Newcastle without a serious ride, even the one i have found is a 45 minute ride from my house.. but still its 2.30min to climb in the big ring... cadence at 50-60.. then a few more minutes to spin round the block and back to the start again.

Swimming has gone from 40 minutes to an hour.. getting used to it now but very difficult to maintain concentration for an hour with nothing much to look at but the sides of a pool.. you can really feel like you've been worked after an hour of continuous swimming.

As the car i use at the weekends was out of order i was resigned to a weekend in Newcastle, after the dissapointment of not getting back to Nottingham i rearranged my training for the weekend.

Saturday was a blast from the past going out with Gosforth RC, i used to ride out with them when i was 15, even some of the same guys still riding out on a saturday morning... was a really windy day so wasn't holding out much hope but as i passed the meeting place there was a few guys there so stopped to tag along, save me figuring out a route and help me stay in zone 2 and not get carried away.
As it happened i spent most of time on the front as i was feeling great and then when the fun and games started on the road to Belsay i couldn't resist ( sorry Mark.. i promise zone 2 all the way now), i attacked then eased up, then attacked then eased up and kept doing it till there was only 3 of us left.... the guy leading the ride on his slick tyred mtb and another regular... as the Belsay sign approached the regular that had lead us out for 400m gave up leaving me and the remaining other guy to jump him for sign.. as it happened we went either side of him, not good road safety and not good riding practice but the sprint for the sign before the cafe is probably as hotly contested by riders in cycling clubs worldwide as any grand tour stage, i won in the end but its not a true victory as other guy was slicked mtb:)
Passed on the cafe stop and had a very quick ride home with the wind on my back.

Sunday was a 2 hour road ride, nothing exciting to report here.. just a strong headwind out and a great tailwind home.

Wind at the moment is insane, a little dicey at times, i have perfected riding crouched right down out of the wind and at times with a 45 degree lean to the side trying to compensate cross winds:)

Debating at the moment wether to try and get an entry for final round of Thetford, as it as turned out with a crash out and a singlespeed race i think i have lost the opportunity to podium in the overall series, maybe a race win would put me there:) We'll see....