Set new personal best for distance
This week has been a real push on – mostly because the weather has been favourable and I’ve been itching to get out more.
The first day of decent weather was on Monday 21st, although there was still a chill in the breeze and more than enough of it to cause a headwind (one thing I am not is aerodynamic!) I pushed hard and made it round Victoria Park four times. This is what my old training routine was and I was really glad to get back up to that level, even if it was a struggle.
Tuesday’s weather was similar, but felt warmer. Perhaps there was a change in the direction of the wind that made it feel warmer. Whatever the reason, I was glad of it and managed the four laps again. I mentioned before that the mapmyfitness app failed on me twice, so I fixed that and went out again on Wednesday. I’ve posted the results of that session already, but by the end of it my legs were dead. I’d been pushing through the usual amounts of pain in my back anyway, but the midweek workout left me empty. So much so that I ended up having a hot bath to soothe the muscles. This may not sound extraordinary to you, but for me it really is – I hate baths – the idea of sitting in what I call ‘me soup’ is disgusting! I have always been a shower kind of a guy, but there are times when needs must.
Thursday was the day I had planned for my rest day, but I needn’t have bothered with the planning; I was dead on my feet! I am very pleased at the difference a day makes! Even last night my legs were like lead and my back was worse than normal.
Today I felt like a new man (a new man with a crocked back, but still…) It’s a Bank Holiday, the sun’s out. The temperature and wind conditions were extremely favourable, so I went out for my usual ride. I knew Victoria Park would be busy and the local Borough Council have recently painted signs on the ground at each entrance to the park saying:
‘PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY
CONSIDERATE CYCLING
WELCOME’
It’s a park. It’s sunny. It’s busy. I was more than prepared for a much higher volume of people in the park. What has bugged me is that people seem to think that these signs now mean that they have every right to do whatever they like to cyclists! They also seem to think that this warning sign also extends to dogs and skateboarders/roller-bladers! I nearly hit several stupid people and/or their pets, simply because their ignorance left them blissfully unaware of the damage that a 19 stone man who is travelling at about 10 mph will do to them and theirs should they decide to veer wildly to the left or right with no warning at all!
Okay – rant over. Even these dullards could not dampen my energy today. I got to four laps and felt like the lead was well and truly gone from my legs, so I decided to push on and see if I could manage six laps. I am pleased to say that I got to the end of the six feeling like I could have managed more. Common sense prevailed and I stopped there, so as to preserve my energies for further days and also to stop me from injuring some rudderless dolt.
I don’t think I will be doing this distance every day from now on… I would like to try and work my way up to longer distances gently in order to avoid injury. The last thing I want to do now is stop.
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