Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Back to it

What a boring title.

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley. I had planned to take it easy for a few weeks after discovering how to stretch my calf, but I improved so quickly that I succumbed and raced in the Somer Valley 29 on Sunday.

Done alright too, as I won in 1:06:17, beating Ben by just 1 second (sorry mate). And together with Rob Gough, we won the team prize. Simon Snowden might be a bit annoyed at that because he wasn't that far behind Rob, but it's only the top three that count for team prizes. Given that there were four of us in the top eight, we could have won the team prize with any combination.

But the win wasn't the important thing. For me it felt good to finally be able to put equal force through both legs without deleterious effects. The stretching I've been doing over the past week has made a huge difference as I don't feel any pain any more. It's not 100 percent yet because I'm still getting a little bit of swelling around the Achilles, but being pain-free is a big plus.

I've entered the National 25 mile championship on June 7, which is being held near Thetford, not that far from where I was born. Now I've got to get back to March fitness, which hopefully shouldn't take too long. I am still at 310W for these longer events, which is OK because it means I haven't lost any power since the WTTA hilly a month ago despite having two weeks off the bike. By comparison, I was at 325W in the Chippenham hilly in March, and that was only 10 days after I'd torn my calf muscle! And I got to 335W last summer.

So it's back to basics: some weekend long rides, a few midweek club races and an open 10 in a week and a half. I was going to do the National 10 but didn't enter it in time, as I thought I wouldn't be fit enough. Not to worry, I prefer 25 miles anyway...
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2 comments:

Vuelo Velo said...

Heya Jeff, I didn't know you were actually born in Blighty. The sensibility I miss so much in Sydney. I fell in love with the part of England you're living in many moons past... well done goodsir. Having said that, my girlfriend and I were riding the hill loop around Centennial Park today delighting in the sunshine, and yes it may seem like stating the bleeding obvious but... we both noticed that we were happier when not cold and wet (it had been raining in the morning). Argh.... for the best of both worlds. Speaking of which.... and TT's, as is your want.... makes me think of a ride with Stuart Dangerfield a while back, we were being chased by a storm on the way back to town, we averaged over 50kph. The dizzying and dangerous combination of romantic memory and the knowledge that I'd only get so many more opportunities like this to ride a flowing two-up with Stuart, meant that I vomited 3 times and was (of course) near comatose, back at the Coluzzi. Great fun! Be well compadre. Cheers, Marty Renwick

10:02 am
Jeff Jones said...

Marty, I was indeed born in the UK and am enjoying living in this part of the world. You're right, the sun makes a big difference to one's mood, even though one gets used to the dampness.

I'm sure you and Dangermouse would make a cracking two-up - as long as you were both fit (vomiting is not conducive to good times, as I too have discovered). He's flying at the moment. I think he'll be on the podium at the national 10 and national 25, although he'll have a hard time beating Hutch...

I remember the time when you done your 50'31(?) on the F4. 1990, 1991? Bloody good time, even though by UK standards that course might have broken the traffic count rule ;-) The u-turn at the end of the freeway was fun too.

Cheers for the comment anyway.

9:17 pm

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