Glad thats over...

Well my BTW is over. And I am very glad. My shoulders and neck are very sick of being in the aero position on the Cervelo. The legs are actually fine. In fact I reckon they feel stronger, but still a bit tired. The other thing I am over is gels and bars and Powerade. I am sick of sweet stuff!

Yesterday was the Epic Day and it went something like this. Up at 440am, in the pool at Bold Park by 535. A cruisy 8x500m with the pull buoy for my 4k swim at about 18:58 pace. Then jumped in the car and zoomed home, whilst consuming 500ml of Up & Go. I then scoffed a big bowl of cereal, got organised and grabbed the bike by about 750am. Off I went headed for the very end of the freeway bike path. The weather was mild and overcast with no discernible breeze. But after about an hour & a half or so, I started to notice that I was cruising along, soft pedaling, doing 36km/h and my heart rate was about 55% of max. I looked for signs of a tail wind, but could not really make out any movement of trees or other flora. So I dropped it down a couple gears and lifted my work rate. I was soon flying along very easily at around 38-40km/h and my HR was still below 60%!!! A lot of fun. It was at this time I did start to see signs of a northerly blowing. So I thought I would make the most of it. I was not seeing too many other cyclists about (seeing how it was mid morning on a Monday). I did come up on a bloke riding a Giant wearing sneakers who was doing perhaps 35. He was a bit of an odd bod and jumped on my wheel and started to rabbit on a bit from behind, where I could hardly hear him. He was probably 65+ not out and fairly fit. I don't know why he didn't have bike shoes on though? Very strange. Luckily we got to the turn off at Safety Bay Rd soon enough, where I had to stop at the servo for some additional hydration etc. I think he was a bit disappointed as I had earlier told him I was going to the end and now I turned off!

Well I didn't see anyone else for the next 60k. The new part of the path is a pretty lonely place on your own. The breeze had picked up a little, so I made good time. I got to the end (92km) in 2:47hrs or about 33km/h. I called Scotty to say hello, as I had a quick break and he said it had just rained in the city. That would explain the increasing NW'er blowing. That weak front the weather man predicted was here. Well seeing as I was 75km from the city, it was still a ways off. So with some trepidation, I mounted my stead and headed north for 3 hours of slog into the wind. The first few km were terrible. I was doing 27-28 and working pretty hard. The sky had got darker to the north and that rain was coming. The wind was gusty and it started spitting right on cue. It was like that for ages. By the time I got back to Baldivis, the path was pretty well soaked and the rain was bit heavier. I was getting covered in sand and dirt from the path as my tyres flicked up the water. My nice clean bike with a new chain was getting filthy! Anyway, kept pushing on and slowly the Km's past. My neck and shoulders were tight and my bum was getting a bit uncomfortable now too. I hate out and back rides where you have to push into a head wind coming home! I kept my cadence up as the next part of my day was a run. I finally got to the city and the breeze had moderated by now somewhat. It even started to get a bit sunny (and steamy too). I finally got home with a split of 3:08hrs. Avg speed overall had dropped to 31. 183km done.

I was so filthy with ride grime and heaps of sand that I had a quick shower straight away, sculled some water and pulled on the running gear. It was off for a one hour run. I felt pretty good and after a couple of km's got into a rhythm of sorts. My cadence would drop if i didn't consciously keep an eye on it though. I ran down to the coast and headed north. I turned around at 6k and headed home. My left arch had been giving me a bit of grief since about the 2-3k mark. It felt worse going up hills, as I pushed off. This is a bit concerning, given my history of plantar fasciitis. Anyway, it settled down a little but by the end. Amazingly, my splits were exactly the same for each half (30:18), even though the return leg has some big uphills at the end!

Well I got home about 330pm and was pretty stuffed after nearly 11 hours since I got out of bed. The Epic Day was finished and so was I! I iced my foot, drank a litre of coffee chill, took some anti-inflammatories and felt a great deal of satisfaction in what was my biggest ever training day. The only day bigger will be Race Day, which is now 38 days away.